The Rangers completed their four-game home stand Sunday with a 4-0 win over the Sharks. While New York played well, the final score is deceiving. It was scoreless after one period and with a minute to go in the second, it was only 1-0. New York may have taken advantage of a San Jose team playing their third game in four nights and on back end of back-to-backs with a 5pm start but good teams do take advantage of those situations.

Here were a few takeaways from me:

Second effort :

Three of the goals and possibly all four came as a result of second effort.

- Carl Hagelin had his first shot stopped but drive to net, lifted the defenseman's stick and got just enough of the puck to chip up off and over Alex Stalock and into the net off the post.
- Martin St. Louis took several cross checks to the neck while repeatedly jamming away at the puck to get it past Stalock. I know I didn't see or hear St. Louis whining like someone else we know and love about the whacks to the neck but wonder if any of you did?
- Rick Nash showed his improved conditioning and speed, getting to the puck following Stalock's first save. Last night, Nash would have been a step slower and not have gotten to the puck. This year, the weight he lost is evidenced in his play beyond the goals. There was a cycling play earlier in the second period in which it looked like Nash had no shot at the puck, but he was able to get to the boards and forecheck a Shark to keep the puck in.

Faceoffs :

This has been a major area of concern the past few seasons and was again heading into last night. Before the game against the Sharks, none of the Rangers' main pivot men were over 50% between the dots. Beginning in the contest against Carolina, Martin St. Louis, who was better on faceoffs than any of us thought, was moved back to wing with Chris Mueller, a natural center, called up.

That call up and shifting of personnel didn't have material impact on draws, as three of the four centers were the same as the past few games, but for one contest, it all came together. New York won 41 of 62 draws, but the way they won much of them is to me the key. One change that was very noticeable was that after the draws, the Rangers' wingers pinched to help out the centers, leading to many of the wins. Moving forward, this is something to watch since that strategy, while effective Sunday and a good one, could leave New York at risk to quick breakout pass and odd an rush.

Line Combinations :

As I wrote yesterday, the Rangers shifted St. Louis back to wing, had Kevin Hayes center a Kreider and Nash, move Moore between Hagelin and Stempniak and Mueller between Glass and Malone. The groupings are below:

Mats Zuccarello-Derick Brassard-Marty St. Louis
Chris Kreider-Kevin Hayes-Rick Nash
Carl Hagelin-Dominic Moore-Lee Stempniak
Tanner Glass-Chris Mueller-Ryan Malone

The changes provided between balance throughout the lineup. St. Louis looked a lot more comfortable back on the wing and despite the lack of size with him and Zucc, that trio showed some grit. I will come back to Hayes in a bit. Moore was effective with Hagelin and Stempniak, as that line has speed in Hagelin with some speed, grit and really good patience in the offensive zone from Stempniak. The fourth line was solid, nothing spectacular but good enough.

Now on to Hayes. You would have to be blind not to notice how seamlessly Hayes seem to fit in between Kreider and Nash. His speed, power, vision and hockey sense were evident throughout the game. The key for all of us is to realize it was just one game but the contrast to that is that Hayes has gotten better each contest, so this performance is not completely out of the blue. If Hayes can play like this, when Derek Stepan does return, that hole in the middle closes because New York would then have four effective centers, who almost as important, would not playing out of position.

Anthony Duclair was scratched Sunday. The questions now are when he gets back in and if he gets back in or is sent back to juniors? I think he likely sits Tuesday but could get back in Saturday against Montreal. Sitting Tuesday allows him to watch again and learn while playing him Saturday and Monday enables the team to see if he can take what he learned and apply it. If not, then the decision to send him back to juniors would be easier to make.

Henrik Lundqvist:
Lundqvist had possibly his best game of the year. He was strong positionally while also looking confident between the pipes. Lundqvist was bailed out by Matt Hunwick, who prevented a goal by sweeping the puck off the goal line but that really was his one possible bobble, as the rest of his game was spot on. The end result was Lundqvist's 51st shutout of his career.

Two straight wins. One okay game and one strong contest. Three games in the next 12 days; games in New Jersey on Tuesday, Saturday in Montreal and Monday at home against Minnesota. From the above, there is time between the Devils and Canadiens contests and then after the Minnesota game to work on the little things and either fix issues or reinforce what's being done well.

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