The Rangers won their third game in row, 5-2 over the Canadiens. Don’t let the final score be your judge of the game, as it was a closer than that. A late tally by Mika Zibanejad and empty net marker by Alexis Lafreniere made the final margin three goals. New York-New York is on the docket from UBS Arena tomorrow.
Game recap:
Rangers lines vs. Canadiends:
Kreider-Zibanejad-Vesey
Panarin-Trocheck-Lafrenière
Cuylle-Wennberg-Kakko
Goodrow-Brodzinski-Rempe
A few thoughts:
1) Artemi Panarin is playing chess while everyone else is playing checkers. His vision, his ability to see the ice, his decisiveness and ability create chances sets him apart from others. The goal he scored to make it 3-1 and all but clinch the game was Panarin deciding to take over the game and finding a way to create a scoring chance with Lafreniere after a good read by Braden Schneider in the D-zone.
Another goal and three assists for the Bread Man. He is up to 115 points (46 goals and 69 assists) on the season. His late-season run has Panarin just eight points shy of tying Jaromir Jagr’s franchise single-season record of 123 points set in 2004-05.
2) The benching of Jack Roslovic and move of Jimmy Vesey to the first line is being called a single game reset by coach Peter Laviolette. Vesey is not the perfect fit for the line, but his grit and determination and ability to forecheck does create chances for Zibanejad and Chris Kreider. This was evident on the fourth goal of the game, as Zib went top-shelf on Cayden Primeau for his second of the game late but Vesey’s forecheck created the turnover and opportunity.
Looks like this will be a one-game change as today’s practice has Roslovic back on the top line which is what the lineup against the Isles likely will be. This moves Vesey back down to the four line and relegates Matt Rempe to the bench. The Garden loves Rempe and the big checks, but he is not great on the offensive end and out of position a lot defensively. If they clinch the division and conference and President’s Trophy, by all means, have him play. But he is not the best option for the fourth line right now.
The two games against the Islanders will certainly have a playoff intensity as the Isles look to hold onto to third on the division and a playoff spot in general, so they are a separate team. Good warm up for the post season for the Rangers. Hopefully no one gets hurt.
From Vince Mercogliano:
The Kreider-Zibanejad-Roslovic line has logged 141:16 TOI while outscoring opponents by a slim 8-7 margin and posting a 49.48% xGF. And while their 55.56% shot share looks good, a deeper dive shows that those attempts have lacked consistent quality. The high-danger scoring chances are 25-17 in favor of the opposition with that trio on the ice.
That led to Vesey getting another look on the top line, with their positive results providing plenty of food for thought. They out-chanced the Canadiens, 8-2, with four registering as high danger chances for and none against.
3) The power play has started to cook a bit. New York went 2-for-3 on the power play Sunday and have converted 10 of their last 26 (38.5%) across their last 12 games, including critical third-period tallies in each of their last three. Good puck movement and traffic in front have been key to their recent success.
Zib’s PPG was a lucky double bounce but caused by havoc in front for his 101st career PPG. Kreider got his 109th PPG, moving him into sole possession of second-place all-time in franchise history, passing Rod Gilbert, scoring on a tip-in from his home office. Puck movement and lane creation resulted in the shot on net and deflection.
4) Zac Jones - as I tweeted a few times, watching him up close and down low on the arena you can really tell how good of a skater he is. Jones should be in the lineup over Erik Gustafsson. He is not being taken advantage of physically by being beaten on the wall for pucks and his skating is an edge that Gus lacks. (All songs though point to Gus being back in for kinds against the Isles).
5) Game action - as Mercogliano noted, the Rangers generated 46 shots on goal − including 16 in the opening 20 minutes − and 20 high-danger scoring chances, according to Natural Stat Trick, but were repeatedly stymied by Primeau. New York’s D-coverage was okay, but Montreal did exploit them once for a goal with a stretch pass on a bad change and just missed two other opportunities.
I thought Adam Fox was meh at best on his own zone last night. In addition, the hand offs and d-zone coverage overall had some gaps, which needs to be fixed before the playoffs. Igor Shesterkin was very solid between the pipes in notching his 34th victory of the year, three behind his career-high set just last year.
6) Franchise mark/standings - the win was New York’s 53rd of the season, which tied the franchise record for most victories in a season. They matched the Carolina Hurricanes' victory Sunday to maintain a five-point lead for first place in the Metro Division, leaving them four points away from clinching their first division title since 2014-15. (Which was also the year they set the wins record.)
Dallas blitzed Colorado 7-4, leaving the Stars three points back in the race for the President’s Trophy with four games remaining. Boston is in the same position in the battle for the Eastern Conference top seed.
7) Vincent Trocheck was a deserving winner of the Steven McDonald Extra Effort Award. I thought it would go to Trocheck or Jonathan Quick. Trocheck has certainly home above and beyond on his second year in New York.
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