In a very entertaining game, the Rangers rode a first-period goal from Alexis Lafreniere, yes, him again, and 32-saves from Jonathan Quick to a 1 -0 win over the Penguins. Add in 25 blocked shots, including four by Nick Bonino, the Block Ness Monster, and five from Jacob Trouba, and you have a recipe for success. New York is in Philly for a 1pm matinee Black Friday to face the Flyers.
Miller - Trouba
Lindgren - Gustafsson
Jones - Schneider
Quick
Shesterkin
A few thoughts:
1) Quick - mea culpa by me for questioning the signing this offseason. That has been proven to be grossly inaccurate so far. Quick has been everything New York could have hoped for and then some his first six starts.
Quick was brilliant throughout, but especially early and late. When New York struggled the first five minutes, Quick was up to the task, making several saves, while also benefiting from Sidney Crosby hitting the post. In addition, Alex Nylander's goal was overturned due to offsides, but Qucik's glove getting knocked off his hand seemingly is allowed. Early in the third, Quick made a brilliant save on Crosby off 2 on 1 with Jake Guentzel after K'Ande Miller was caught up ice. With 32 seconds remaining, Quick stoned Crosby with a shoulder save to preserve the 1-0 win.
With the victory, Quick is now 5-0-1 and has allowed only 11 goals in those six starts. His stellar play has allowed the Rangers to rest Igor Shsterkin liberally and not rush him when he was sidelined with soreness. The Connecticut native has helped to backstop his favorite team as a kid to first place in the Metro. Quick's shutout was the 60th of his career, becoming the first U.S.-born goaltender in NHL history to hit that mark.
2) Team defense - Pittsburgh had 32 shots in addition to 25 blocked, so New York didn't completely shut them down. But the commitment to defense up and down the lineup was noticeable. In the past, only the defense and some forwards were committed. Now, the entire roster has bought in.
Here are some examples:
- Mika Zibanejad saves a goal with his skate in first
- Erik Gustafsson knocks puck off line in second- Artemi Panarin with a huge back check on the power play late in the game to break up a possible opportunity
- Miller knocked the puck out of the way in front of the net down the stretch
- Great work by Bonino to keep puck in offensive zone after PP expires, killing time
- Zibanejad knocks puck away at blue line as time is expiring to secure the win
3) Penalty kill - the Rangers went 5-for-5 while shorthanded. Granted, Pittsburgh is struggling on the man-advantage and figuring out how to use both Erik Karlsson and Kris Letang. But the Rangers were very good, limiting their chances, while blocking several shots to shut down the Pittsburgh attack. When needed, Quick was up to the task, but the four players in front of him did yeoman work.
4) Lafreniere continues to excel. Last year, he didn't score his eighth of the season until February 8, his 50th game of the season. Tonight, in Game 17, sprung by Zibanejad after he created a turnover by Ryan Graves, Lafreniere beat Tristan Jarry on the backhand for the only goal of the game and his eighth of the season. It's not just the scoring, but his whole game and persona on the ice.
I have said before confidence begets confidence. That certainly looks to be the case for Lafreniere. His mojo is rising game by game, aided by playing with Panarin, but he deserves a ton of credit to take advantage of the opportunity.
New York Rangers Blogger • 
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