The Rangers notched their first victory of the season, defeating Montreal 2-1 at the Bell Center. Igor Shesterkin was brilliant between the pipes, stopping 31 of 32 shots. Chris Kreider scored for the third straight game while Alexis Lafreniere, in his first game in his home province, tallied the game-winner. New York was without Ryan Strome due to COVID-19 protocols and lost Kaako Kappo to an upper-body injury after the first period.
Game recap:
Lines:
#NYR warmup rushes
— Vince Z. Mercogliano (@vzmercogliano) October 16, 2021
Laf - Zib - Kreider
Panarin - Chytil - Kakko
Blais - McKegg - Goodrow
Hunt - Rooney - Reaves
Lindgren - Fox
Miller - Trouba
Nemeth - Nils
A few thoughts: 1) With Strome out, Greg McKegg was in the lineup as the 3C and Filip Chytil slid up to the second line. We all believe Morgan Barron should be with the team, and maybe they want him to get a few more games under his belt until he is recalled. But the bottom-six is very little threat offensively now, compared to what we thought could and should be the case if Vitali Kravtsov was still with the squad.
Chytil was solid in the win and has been good between the dits in 2 of the 3 games. Strome is out one more game at least. If Chytil can have another solid contest and carry that performance with him forward, the third line - despite how it's constituted - might be a weapon. Plus it would provide ammunition for Chytil as to future usage.
The depth that used to be there is now lacking substantially. Shayne Goldman did a nice job at laying this out in a column, focusing on right wing. Fortunately, Kreider has stepped up to assist in remediating the gap created, but as we have seen in the past, consistency has been an issue for him. Hopefully, the craters in his game won't be as pronounced in the past, as they need C20 to be productive consistently.
Seems like tonight would be a good night to have Kravtsov… https://t.co/75S1Q3sqZh
— Shayna (@hayyyshayyy) October 16, 2021
2) Kravtsov - Vince Mercogliano had some excellent info on the situation. Both sides are at fault, but if the former director of European scouting, Nick Bobrov, did make the lineup promises that are rumored, then we can see why Kravtsov is upset. Both sides need to find a way to a middle ground. It's interesting, and we saw this a few years ago with Lias Andersson. If Kravtsov would have gone down for a few days, given the injury tio Kakko, if he is sidelined for a bit, Kravtsov would have been in line for a much needed call up. But too much water may have passed under the bridge for any sort of reconciliation to happen....again
Here are snippets of the two sides of the story:
There were a few reasons, beginning with the ongoing process of becoming a more complete hockey player. He made strides while playing in the KHL last season, particularly with his forechecking, defense and ability to get inside in the offensive zone. But training camp revealed that there was still work to be done, which the key decision-makers wanted him to focus on in Hartford.There was also a lower-body injury that kept Kravtsov out for roughly a week of camp. That deprived him of time to make an impression on Gallant and learn the new coach’s system.
It also may have affected his conditioning, which the Rangers felt was not quite where it needed to be. They decided playing top-line minutes in the AHL would be the ideal way to gear up for an NHL opportunity
In Kravtsov’s mind, there’s a pattern that led to his distrust.
It dates back to May 2019 when he signed his entry-level contract at 19 and spent much of that summer training in the U.S. He believed he would play in the NHL that season, but ended up being one of the final cuts.
At the conclusion of the KHL season, he returned to the U.S. and appeared in 20 NHL games, mostly on the fourth line.
His name was floated in trade rumors this summer, but he was pushed up on the depth chart after top-line winger Pavel Buchnevich was traded to the St. Louis Blues.
"I feel really good about our depth at winger with some recent early draft picks we’ve had," Drury said at the time.
Kravtsov’s camp felt another clear signal was sent when Drury declined to invite him to September’s prospect development camp, which the GM said was because he preferred him to participate in voluntary workouts with the NHL regulars.
The implication was that Kravtsov had graduated from prospect to pro, with Gallant starting him off on the third line next to Chytil and Barclay Goodrow. He even played the rookie on the top line for the Oct. 1 preseason game in New Jersey against the Devils, which is when Kravtsov sustained the injury.
There is belief that both Andersson and Kravtsov were given false hope about how quickly they'd play in their desired spots in the NHL lineup. That communication issue may have played a part in Bobrov's dismissal.
Intermission reading #NYR https://t.co/QGQEGd9jig
— Vince Z. Mercogliano (@vzmercogliano) October 17, 2021
3) Shesterkin: there are nights when your goalie has to steal a win, last night was that night. When a big save was needed, Igor was there. But even more important, his ability to play the puck and relieve pressure on the D is an aspect of his game that doesn't get enough focus, but was on full display in the win several times. My plea to coach Gerard Gallant is to ride the horse in the net. Play him as much as possible - wisely of course - resting him liberally. But Igor gives the team the best chance to win and should be between the pipes.
4) Lafreniere, the No. 1 pick in the 2020 NHL Draft from nearby Saint-Eustache, Quebec, scored on a 2-on-1, deflecting a pass from Zibanejad to put the Rangers up 2-1 at 9:50. With seemingly his whole family in attendance, Laf paid the price for the goal, getting a stick in the chin and needing a few stitches, but it was worth it in the end.
Zib made a beautiful feed and was flying all game, drawing the d-man to him and leaving Laf a wide-open side of the net to beat Jake Allen. But the play was made by Adam Fox in the d-zone, pivoting back a forechecker to create space and then hitting Zib with the breakout pass. Zib also did good work on the boards on the empty netter, helping to spring Kevin Rooney.
5) Kakko, who was noticeable the first two games, looked good in the first period and then did not return after the first intermission with an upper-body injury after a pair of collisions with Alexander Romanov. After losing Chytil after a solid start last year, New York can ill-afford to have the same happen again. Especially since there is no real replacement for Kakko on the second line right wing. If Kakko is out, look for Barclay Goodrow to likely move up a line, though Julien Gauthier - who probably gets back in the lineup - might get a look as well.
6) Jacob Trouba and K'Andre Miller. Miller chased the puck behind the net. The two D--men got tangled up, leaving the crease wide open for Jonathan Drouin who scored. A miscommunication and a bad end result.
7) On Monday, New York faces Toronto, who could welcome back Auston Matthews. Thursday, they are in Nashville and then Ottawa, likely with Brady Tkachuk on Saturday. Back home for a pair after which it's a four-game road trip, starting with their first ever game in Seattle and the remainder in Western Canada.