The Rangers went on the road and picked up a satisfying win Saturday, defeating the Senators 4-1 for their fifth win in six games. In the victory, the Blueshirts were able to overcome 1-0 deficit, physical play - bordering on over the line - and see a slumping center break a 13-game goalless streak. To compete the picture, their backup goalie gave up less two goals for the 11th time in his 13 starts.
Game Highlights:
New York fell behind 1-0 on a goal by Marc Methot but that's where Derek Stepan took over. After coming out of the penalty box into a five-on-three by the Rangers, Stepan skated to the right of Craig Anderson and fed a cross-crease pass to Brad Richards, who scored from a sharp angle, top shelf to even it at one. In the second period, after Chris Neil's attempt at intimidation, with a hit to the head of Dominic Moore, in which Moore was called for a roughing penalty after responding, the Rangers handled it in the best way possible. First, they killed the second, then a minute and 39 seconds later, Stepan sprung Nash for a breakaway, in which Nash gathered the puck and went top shelf. Nash's recognition that he would be tied up if he went to the goal and ability to blast it on the move to the perfect spot is why the Rangers went out and got him, as he is a pure sniper. That goal was his fifth in seventh games.
Later in the frame, Chris Kreider forced Erik Karlsson into a turnover, which Stepan picked up and blasted it for a 3-1 lead with 12 seconds left in the stanza. With a little under two minutes to go in the period, Cory Conacher skated through Cam Talbot behind his crease. Talbot responded after the frame ended, putting his shoulder into Conacher’s face as the teams left the ice. Any concerns that Talbot would be fazed by the incident were put to rest, as in the third, he made 16 of his 29 saves, lowering his league-leading goals against average to 1.62 and raising his save percentage to .940, which also leads the league. Mats Zuccarello iced the win with a bit more than three minutes to go, stealing the puck and beating Anderson a breakaway. And he showed he could stand up to physical play as well after .
For me there were a few keys: - obviously Stepan getting a goal, which hopefully will ease some of the pressure and scrutiny. Of course, of he goes a few games without scoring, all the focus will start again. - having a solid backup like Talbot hopefully will allow the Rangers to give Lundqvist appropriate rest up to and after the Olympics. - the fine continued play by Richards. For all the possible talk about amnestying Richards after the season, if he can stay even remotely this hot, with the cap going on, the talk may shift to how the team has to keep Richards. Evidence of this is Richie tallying nine points (four goals, five assists) in the last eight games, and he is now tied for the Rangers lead with 13 goals this season - Special teams. The power play notched another goal while the penalty kill killed off both shorthanded chances. In the past, the latter was usually good while the former mostly struggled. Having both as weapons makes this team so much more dangerous. - A healthy Nash is now a productive Nash. Five goals in seven games. Not just goals, but goal-scorer goals. His game breaking ability gives the team a weapon they haven't had in a while. - Zucc being Zucc. He has registered a point in five of the last six games (three goals, two assists over the span), including a goal in each of the last two games, and has 10 points (five goals, five assists) in the last 11 games. Zuccarello is now tied for the team lead with 13 goals this season with Richards. -"The Carcillo effect" - New York (26-21-3) has a 5-1-0 record using the same 12 forwards and six defensemen since Daniel Carcillo made his team debut in Chicago on Jan. 8. - The Blueshirts have outscored opponents 14-5 in the third period of their last 14 games to post a 10-3-1 record during that stretch. They have allowed an even-strength goal in only two of their previous 13 periods. - The Rangers lead the Eastern Conference with 15 road wins and Rick Nash had a game-high six shots and now has five goals in his last seven games.
In case you haven't seen it, Vancouver and Calgary started their game Saturday in an interesting manner. It got more interesting as former Rangers coach John Tortorella had to be prevented from going to the Flames locker room between periods. As the road team submits their lineup first, Bob Hartley and Calgary decided to dress their goons, which given the bad blood between the teams likely shouldn't have been that surprising. Torts had two choices: 1) play his skilled players and try to score but also take the risk that they get pounded or 2) fight fire with fire and dress his goons. He chose the latter, which is hard to criticize, as he probably rightly chose to protect his skill players. In doing so and with his actions after the period, he likely may get a suspension, but he won the respect of every single member of his team. Say what you want on if you think he did the right thing but the Canucks, if they weren't willing before, will now go through a wall for him.
http://youtu.be/Vlel1VPZ4zA
http://www.sportingnews.com/nhl/story/2014-01-18/canucks-flames
The Rangers play Washington at home on Sunday. With Philly also winning on Saturday, both the Flyers and New York remain tied for second place in the Metro Division, but Philly has a game in hand. The Capitals, who have lost two straight, are three points behind with two games in hand. Tied with Washington, three points behind NY and also with two games in hand, but having own six in a row, is Rangers Midwest, aka Columbus.
Of course, not all the news can be good. On the heels of Ek's blog today, in which he wrote, "I don't get it, but the Rangers are more and more turning away from their spiritual leader. The Minnesota Wild and Hurricanes are the first of what should be a slew of teams interested in Ryan," comes Steve Zipay's blog.
Zipay doesn't point out anything we haven't thought of, juxtaposing the value the Callahan has as the heart-and-soul and grit leader of the Rangers with how that style has resulted in injuries that make determining his $ value, especially if he wants six years at $6 million per moving forward difficult.
Zipay writes,
"But Callahan turns 29 in March, and his play has produced a litany of injuries, most recently offseason shoulder surgery to repair a torn labrum, a broken thumb in October and a sprained MCL in early December. Going back to 2010, you'll recall a broken left hand, and that broken right ankle in 2011 from blocking shots. When he is healthy, Callahan is a skilled, passionate engine. As he plays on, however, does the risk of potential breakdowns and more missed games outweigh matching a possible six-year deal worth $6 million-plus per season that might be dangled out there"
To me, the following statement sums up the situation best, and has to make the longer a deal takes to be reached or not reached increased the possibility of him walking.
"A long-term, secure deal could be Callahan's swan song, and given the number of clubs who will have big bucks to spend this summer with the salary cap rising, the market is appetizing."
As painful as it may be for many of us, the multiple columns/blogs about Callahan leaving has to mean that the thought process is definitely out later and maybe more prevalent than we thought. The determination on if what he has done in the past warrant maybe an extra year or extra million dollar per season is what Sather has to decide. Is the risk of having your captain suffer an injury worse than the risk of having the leader of your squad, the one who sets the tone inside and outside the locker room, leave and take those skills with him? The ball is in your court Glen Sather and there is no easy answer.