The Rangers, in a game dominated by special teams and one they likely deserved to lose, pulled out a 4-3 overtime win over Vancouver. K'Andre Miller notched his first of the season in the extra session off a brilliant feed from Chris Kreider after a potential trip on Elias Pettersson was not called to give New York the victory. Igor Shesterkin was a monster in overtime, robbing Andrei Kuzmenko three times to allow the Rangers time to get the win. The Blueshirts are 4-0 on their West Coast trip which finishes Monday in Winnipeg, which should give Blake Wheeler a little extra juice. Wonder if coach Peter Laviolette, who did not look or sound happy post-game with the team's 5x5 effort, starts him and the third line against the Jets?
A few thoughts:
1) Shesterkin made six saves in the extra session, including three on Kuzmenko, two of which came in the same sequence (see below). The third came on a breakaway where Igor got just enough of the puck with his glove to tip it wide of the net. Of the three goals he allowed, maybe the shorthanded one by Tyler Myers could have been stopped. J.T. Miller notched Vancouver's first goal on a high deflection in front while Carson Soucy blasted one from the point to tie the game at three on a shot Igor never saw. Igor was on his game in this one and likely should get the nod Monday.
2) Special teams won the game for New York. It was somewhat of a mixed bag. The Rangers went 3-for-6 on the power play and are now operating at a 34.5% clip, good for second in the league, benefitting from the work of assistant coach Michael Peca. One of the goals, Artemi Panarin's, who extended his point streak to eight games, came on a 5-on-3 after Chris Kreider hit the post earlier on a deflection as did Mika Zibanejad on a blast. Adam Fox, sliding down again from the point to the left slot, converted a Panarin pass. While the third was set up on a beautiful pass to Zib for his first of the season. But, they allowed a shorthanded tally on a missed connection or brain cramp in the neutral zone when Fox put the puck up the left side for Zib who never turned or saw the pass. Bad communication led to the 2-on-1 and a goal by Myers.
On the penalty kill, the Rangers were pretty solid. Vancouver went 1-for-6, on the deflection by Miller with three seconds remaining on the man-advantage, and Igor came up big when needed. The Canucks' third goal by Soucy came just after a penalty was killed, so while not a PPG, the power play played a major role in the score. New York has now been successful on 82.1% of their kill attempts, tied for 11th in the league. This area is still a work in progress.
3) Non-call - the big hull-a-baloo on Twitter last night was non-call on Kreider, who looked to have tripped Pettersson to get the puck and create the 2-on-1 with Miller. Below are highlights of that as well as a play about two minutes earlier in overtime by Pettersson on Vincent Trocheck. You could make a salient argument that both were penalties, though neither was called. I am not sure if we should be happy neither was called, granted, the end result was a good one, but not if neither was the right call.
4) Laviolette has noted the Rangers have spent a bit too much time in their own end at times this season, particularly in situations when they have the lead. That certainly was the car win the second period last night when the team was on the heels. New York was aided again by blocking shots, notching 18 yesterday, including five by Nick Bonino. It's good that it is working but this may not be a recipe for long-term success and one that Laviolette will focus on in practice.
“We were in our D zone a little bit more, we want to be able to defend well, but we don’t want to have to defend that much,” Fox said. “But guys are committed. I think guys are really bought in and it’s a team effort. It’s not one guy, two guys. I think we appreciate blocked shots just as much as a big goal, a big assist, big hit, big save. Everyone’s contributing.”
5) Leaked third jersey - the Rangers will have a third jersey this season. We got a sneak preview thanks to leaks the last day or so. The rumored jersey will be a dark navy blue with the shield on the front and stripes on the side. I don't love it but at least the shield is raised and we probably will also get a Stadium Series jersey.
While we were sleeping, a whole new set of leaked New York Rangers new third jersey photos were posted to Reddit. They show us the entire sweater in stunning detail for a leak #NYR#NHL
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