The Rangers won their third straight game in row Wednesday, defeating the Hurricanes 3-2 at MSG. New York carried play early on, grabbing a 3-0 lead in the first period. The Blueshirts controlled action until another too-many-men-on-the ice penalty - their third in four games - gave the 'Canes a power play, on which they converted. Carolina scored 97 seconds later and Henrik Lundqvist, who was a stalwart throughout, bailed out the Rangers with the save of the year on Martin Necas. Hank stoned 17 shots in the third to seal the win for New York, who face Boston on Friday afternoon on the road.
Lines, with David Quinn changing his mind and using Ryan Strome at right wing. Chytil stays at center. Fast who was on the first line drops to the fourth:
Kreider-Zibanejad-Buchnevich Panarin-Chytil-Strome Lemieux-Howden-Kakko Smith-Nieves-Fast A few thoughts:
1) Lundqvist - 41 saves for win #456 in his second straight start. The save on Necas was unreal, keeping New York in the league. Amazing how good he has looked lately. Quinn has a tough decision on who to play Friday. Does he roll with Lundqvist, due to his fine play the last two games, even though he made a point of resting him or go with Georgiev in what will be a very hostile environment?
A stick save from Henrik Lundqvist keeps the #NYR ahead pic.twitter.com/tYvOEtOUny
— Shayna (@hayyyshayyy) November 28, 2019
Pretty sure we're going to be seeing this save for a while. @VallysView and @jaygeemsg break down @HLundqvist30's spectacular performance in tonight's Rangers win. #PlayLikeANewYorker pic.twitter.com/mehvdK4HkZ
— MSG Networks (@MSGNetworks) November 28, 2019
Henrik Lundqvist has been selected as one of the game's Three Stars in 397 of his 1,000 career regular-season and playoff appearances, and he has been selected as the game's First Star 170 times in the regular-season and playoffs. #NYR
— NYR Stats & Info (@NYRStatsInfo) November 28, 2019
2) Mika Zibanejad - a power-play goal in his return to action, thanks to a ridiculous feed by Adam Fox, thanks to Ryan Strome lifting Dougie Hamilton's stick. Having Zib really lengthens the lineup, as Quinn noted in the post-game press conference. Zibanejad thought he got better in the second and third, though I didn't necessarily see that in his play.
Early 2-0 lead? We're here for it pic.twitter.com/KsKkDrYMbh
— Rangers on MSG (@RangersMSGN) November 28, 2019
3) Artemi Panarin - all he does is continues to produce. But as Quinn noted and we have highlighted repeatedly, what's been even more impressive is his play in the other two zones. Defensively responsible, blocking shots, the little things that win games but aren't always noticed, especially in players with elite skills.
Since 1983-84, Artemi Panarin is one of four Rangers who have tallied 32 or more points in the team's first 23 games of a season (Mark Messier - 1992-93; Jaromir Jagr - 2005-06 and 2006-07; Marian Gaborik - 2009-10). #NYR
— NYR Stats & Info (@NYRStatsInfo) November 28, 2019
4) Fox - a goal to go along with an assist, but neither was his most impressive play of the night. Knocking the puck away without taking a penalty and playing sound positional hockey was even more noticeable. Really has adapted well and showed Carolina what they are missing, though I think the 'Canes knew this already. However, I didn't think he and Ryan Lindgren were great overall.
He did go to Harvard. #HockeySmarts pic.twitter.com/wkzQlMLWRX
— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) November 28, 2019
5) Chytil - I thought he was the best Ranger on the ice by far. Was given extra ice time as the game wore on and likely deserved more. Made Quinn look smart for keeping him at center. His development at that spot will be key for the future, so he should receive all the ice time he needs to accelerate his development.
Skjei-Trouba rightfully led the way in minutes. Zibanejad played 16:49 in his first game back. Everyone hit the 10-minute mark. Kakko and Lemieux were each under 13 minutes in total. pic.twitter.com/bTbna2qNuB
— Shayna (@hayyyshayyy) November 28, 2019
6) Power play - with Zib back, the new combinations were: PP1: 23-10-20-16-93 PP2: 77-8-89-72-24 (Kakko moved to the second unit).
They looked great on the first goal, after that, not so much, especially on the man-advantage in the third period.
7) Too many men on the ice. Quinn took responsibility, as Brendan Lemieux ended up on the ice as the extra skater. Lemieux was stapled to the bench after the penalty for the remainder of the second period. He was paroled in the third and made a handful of nice defensive play.
Coach Quinn explains the @NYRangers extra man penalty and takes all the responsibility. pic.twitter.com/fChTIFfBSv
— MSG Networks (@MSGNetworks) November 28, 2019