The Rangers got back to winning ways, defeating the Maple Leafs 5-2 Thursday. It was a much better overall performance by New York. Defensively, you could see improvement, though that's not to say all was perfect. When breakdowns occurred, Henrik Lundqvist was very strong between the pipes. New York has two days off before a 12:30 contest on the road Sunday against Detroit.
A few thoughts:
1)
Lundqvist was very strong. The first goal was a deflection off Kevin Klein's stick to a wide open Tyler Bozak. The second was a pick pocket of Adam Clendening short handed and great shot by Zach Hyman. But Lundqvist just seemed to play with a lot more confidence.
Lundqvist saw his first shot at 0:45, a deflection off Leo Komarov’s stick in front. He made a 2-on-1 pad save on Frederik Gauthier at 5:20 and then stayed with and denied Auston Matthews on a dash to the net at 7:57. Later, he stoned Komarov on an odd-man rush and maintained his position and patience on Mitch Marner's partial breakaway, which then resulted in the Rangers' third goal. Lundqvist in third stoned I believe Hyman to keep New York in the lead.
Lundqvist's post game quotes gave a little insight into how he played the game and viewed the win:
“I focused minute by minute and tried to build my game,” Lundqvist said. “I wasn’t rushing. I wanted to be patient.”
“I think it was a big game for me, a big game for the team to respond in a good way. Sometimes a win means a little bit more. … I think today you enjoy it a little extra after what I have been through last week or so. Its obviously not fun as a goalie to give up a lot of goals. … Today it was better.”
2)
Defense: Klein had that so-so play in the first leading to the goal against but thought he wasn't horrible after that. He and Holden were on ice for lots of shots against and I still think should be the odd man out when Marc Staal does eventually return.
Clendening had the turnover that led to Hyman's goal though Pavel Buchnevich didn't help him out much with the initial pass then going around him on the boards limiting his space in which work. Besides that, I thought he had a pretty good game. His zone exits were really good and he made a nice play tying up Marner on that breakaway, forcing him to shoot it wide. Clendening should remain in the lineup when Staal returns.
Brady Skjei opened up the scoring when the magician, Mats Zuccarello, after a good forecheck by Chris Kreider, made a great dish to Skjei, who was open in the slot. Skjei waited, picked his spot and put his wrist shot there for the goal. Skjei ranks third among NHL rookie defensemen in points this season with 19 (two goals, 17 assists).
Dan Girardi gets a lot of hate, a good portion of it deserved. Last name, he was extremely strong. Active with his stick while displaying a physical presence. Better at reading plays as well. He still is slow, seen when he got lucky an icing was called early as he likely would have been beaten to the dots. But credit needs to be given when its due and yesterday, he deserves it.
Overall, the D was better. But this Heat Map for Natural Stat Trick shows shot attempts. Look at how many Toronto got in close. So while the D was better, so was Lundqvist.
3)
Offense was keyed by a few players. The continued rise of Pavel Buchnevich. Kevin Hayes' hands and vision. Michael Grabner's terrifying speed and better hands.
Buchnevich tallied his sixth of the season and extended his point streak to four games. The smarts to use his skate to direct the puck and then the hands to deflect the puck so it doesn't go in via a direct kicking motion. In his first 14 NHL games, Buch has tallied six goals and eight assists. The line of Nash-Zib-Buch is blossoming and coalescing right before our eyes. If the hockey gods are looking down on the Rangers, Buch will stay healthy.
The dish from Hayes to J.T. Miller put Miller in perfect position for his shot and goal. Now, Miller was helped by the puck deflecting off Matt Hunwick’s helmet into the net, but the pass created the room and space for the shot. The whole play came after Clendening and Lundqvist combined to stop Marner's breakaway. It was a strange sequence but one that benefited the Rangers. Just before the goal, Mitch Marner pushed a puck just wide of Lundqvist. The game could have had a completely different outcome if Marner was able to convert, nice play Clendening on the backcheck. The better pass was the one to Grabner for his breakaway goal, since it went between two Maple Leafs catching Grabner in stride for the shortie, the Rangers' seventh of the year.
Grabner was a threat all night and could have had more than the two goals he tallied. He draw a pair of penalties on breakaways not converting. Grabner's second was an empty netter on which he stole the puck. His two markers gives Grabner 21 on the year, 20 of which have come at even strength and the other short handed, which is remarkable because it means that he gotten none on the power play. Speed kills and Grabner's speed is a major weapon.
4)
Road warriors and resiliency. The victory was the Rangers’ league-leading 16th on the road (16-7), where they have taken five of their past six games and nine of the past 11. Meanwhile, they have dropped three straight and five of the past seven at the Garden.
The Rangers have now posted a 13-3-1 record in a game following a loss. Rebounding relatively quickly from a loss to prevent long losing streaks is a major plus in the NHL. Especially seeing how tight the Metro is. The three game losing streak was a mild aberration. But since two of those losses succeeded a loss in the prior game, that means New York was 12-1-1 in games after a loss before this streak.
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