The Rangers - or more precisely Henrik Lundqvist - defeated the Hurricanes 2-1 on Tuesday. Goals by Connor Brinkley, his first as a Ranger, and Vladislav Namestnikov, his third in three games, provided all the offense for the Blueshirts. Lundqvist stopped 43 shots, some of the saves spectacular, especially late, on carrying New York to the victory and 2-2 road trip. The Rangers return to MSG to face Minnesota on Thursday.
Game recap:
David Quinn Post-Game:
Coach Quinn's postgame reaction to tonight's #NYR win saying "Hank was certainly the difference." pic.twitter.com/kPoAUHgdvT
— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) February 20, 2019
Lines: Kreider-Zibanejad-Zuccarello Vesey-Hayes-Buchnevich Namestnikov-Strome-Fast Brickley-Nieves-Chytil
Skjei-McQuaid Staal-DeAngelo Smith-Shattenkirk
Lundqvist
A few thoughts:
1) Lundqvist, Lundqvist and more Lundqvist. After struggling recently, Lundqvist put on a clinic between the pipes. He was brilliant throughout the game, keeping New York in the contest early on and then preserving the 2-1 lead late. It’s possible that Quinn goes back to Alexandar Georgiev against the Wild, keeping the goaltending rotation that has been in effect the last 11 games. But based on how Hank played last night, I would roll with him versus Minnesota and possibly turn to Georgiev, depending on how Lundqvist performs and his workload Thursday.
The King was on top of his game tonight! @BillPidto & @VallysView go over Henrik Lundqvist's 43-save performance against the Hurricanes. #NYR
— MSG Networks (@MSGNetworks) February 20, 2019
Full video 🎥https://t.co/cgjrcVWWHT pic.twitter.com/BezMB4aSnd
Henrik Lundqvist made 40 or more saves in a regular season game for the 31st time in his NHL career; in those 31 games, he has posted an 18-5-8 record, along with a 1.88 GAA, a .957 SV%, and 4 SO. #NYR
— NYR Stats & Info (@NYRStatsInfo) February 20, 2019
HEN-RIK!! pic.twitter.com/cK4CUKYhkp
— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) February 20, 2019
How about these clutch saves from @HLundqvist30 late in tonight's game! #NYR pic.twitter.com/HUiFBY9wcS
— MSG Networks (@MSGNetworks) February 20, 2019
2) Rangers 5v5 and Shot charts overall. Pretty evident that Carolina carried play and how good dominant Lundqvist was in the contest. This is a story we have seen all too frequently in the past.
#NYR vs #TakeWarning at 5v5. The Rangers should be thanking Lundqvist and his 43 saves. pic.twitter.com/sl13w4goWM
— Shayna (@hayyyshayyy) February 20, 2019
Hurricanes might have hit the net a little more. pic.twitter.com/HQLfni9iwd
— Micah Blake McCurdy (@IneffectiveMath) February 20, 2019
3) With all the trade focus on Kevin Hayes and Mats Zuccarello and to a lesser extent Adam McQuaid, Namestnikov is further down on the list of Rangers who could be moved. He has had an uneven season but is rounding back into form again. Nam could be a nice third line center or winger addition for a team down the stretch and in playoffs. At a $4 million salary for the remainder of this season and next, he isn’t overly overpriced and may draw significant interest as we sit less than a week away from the trade deadline.
4) Soeaking of Hayes, take the below tweet as you will. Regarding of your view, this is not the first time Hayes, a Boston native, and the Bruins have been linked. The latest rumors appear to show Zuccarello and Calgary as a match with McQuaid drawing interest from Toronto. Six days to the deadline. Expect some movement, maybe from the names just listed or Matt Duchene, with Nashville as a possible destination, kicking off deadline deals.
Was just about to fall asleep and got a call from a trusted source telling me "#NHLBruins ready to try the Hayes family again! B's are frontrunners for #NYR C Kevin Hayes if they miss out on Stone or Panarin."
— Jimmy Murphy (@MurphysLaw74) February 20, 2019
Will post more on @CLNSMedia tomorrow!@BruinsCLNS
Goodnight!