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Game 20: NYR 5 MTL 0, Total Team Victory |
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The Rangers build off their solid performance against the Flyers with an even better one Sunday against the Canadians. New York received contributions from every player on the team and stifling a strong Montreal attack while scoring five goals of their own. In sports, we have a tendency to over focus on one game, so it's kind of interesting to see where the team is now compared to how we viewed them just a week ago.
All 12 forwards scored for the first time since December 17, 1980 against Winnipeg. All six defenseman were solid in their own zone while also transitioning from defense to offense adroitly. Henrik Lundqvist, despite not being overly challenged, came up with saves when needed in earning his fourth shutout of the year.
There are almost no negatives with how the team played last night. The forwards did an excellent job back checking and clearing the front of the net. The defensemen were good in their own zone and then shifted quickly from defense to offense to trigger the attack. New York cycled the puck effectively, and when they didn't have the puck, the forecheck was solid. To me, what was most impressive in the win was that the neutral zone coverage was stifling. New York did a great job of limiting Montreal's speed by clamping down in the neutral zone. When there was breakdown, which were few and far between, the goaltending was excellent. Last, as seen by Kevin Klein coming to Lundqvist's defense when he was hit by Brandon Prust - though I do think he was pulling up and it was unintentional - the team looked last night as a team. Each member of the squad stepping up accountable for themselves and others. So when you add it all up, the end the result was a 5-0 win over Montreal.
I wrote yesterday that I wanted the fourth line to stick together to hopefully build off their solid game against Philadelphia. In addition, my view was that by keeping them together, hopefully you build some continuity and consistency that will help you as the season continues. Coach Alain Vigneault decided to scratch Lee Stempniak to give him an extra day for his back to recover, though he may have been influenced by how well the fourth trio played against the Flyers. That decision proved to be prescient, as the fourth line got the first goal, driven by hard work and a less than optimal play by Dustin Tokarski. The team I think fed off of that strong start and performance by the fourth line which filtered down to the remainder of the lineup.
The real good news is that Ryan McDonagh is making strong progress and I think could be back next week. Martin St. Louis' early slump is a thing of the past with seven goals in eight games. He now has to deal with a highly volatile and emotional situation going back to Tampa for the first time since the trade while cognizant that he is just two points shy of 1,000 for his career, though neither should affect his preparation that much. Rick Nash continues to be a weapon, regardless of if he scores, but now that he is, his confidence level is sky high. I could go and up-and-down the rest of the lineup, but I think we all know, at least from the past few games, the positives outweigh the negatives.
After the handwringing of less than a week ago, the mindset of the team and fans is in a much better place. But there is no letting up. With Tampa, who traditional has given New York fits around a holiday, followed by a back-to-back Friday and Saturday with Philadelphia, there is no time to rest on your laurels. Come out of this three-game stretch in good shape and I think some buzz around the industry and fanbase will really start to build for this team. But that's down the road, take care of the now and the future will fall into place.
RIP Pat Quinn and Viktor Tikhonov, two giants of the game lost today.
New York Rangers Blogger • 
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