AP Photo/Frank Franklin II

AP Photo/Frank Franklin II

I’m traveling for work, so I wasn’t able to watch the game in its entirety last night. I caught the highlights and was able to view the in-game stats though. All I saw was pure Rangers domination. Suit said this on Twitter, but the Rangers and the Avs play very similar styles (e.g., man-on-man D, solid transitional game, etc). The difference last night was that the Rangers executed, and the Avs did not. Some other quick points:

  • In the pregame, I noted that the Avs have been riding high SH% and SV% while not maintaining puck possession. They really are a statistical anomaly. Their inability to maintain puck possession worked in the Rangers favor last night. The Avs will make the playoffs, but that’s mostly because Minnesota, Nashville, Dallas, and Winnipeg are not good teams.
  • Ryan Callahan’s 82 game pace: 22-27-49. Still has a shot at 20 this year, needing 9 goals in the final 25 games. Tough, but doable. His two goals last night just cemented the general consensus: Teams in the thick of it do not trade their captain. Also, his line from last night was absurd: 2-1-3, +3, 6 SOG, 1 BS, 7 hits.

  • Want to talk about domination? The Rangers ended the game with a 60% even strength Fenwick (shots+missed shots) advantage (48 Fenwick events to 32). At the end of the first, it was 27-6 Rangers. It was 44-26 at the end of the second. At 5v5 close (+/- two goals) it was an 80% Rangers advantage.
  • Dan Girardi and Ryan McDonagh completely shut down the opposition’s top line….again. I feel like I say that after every game.
  • The Avs are one of the more skilled teams in the league, but the Rangers speed overwhelmed them time and time again. We complained the Rangers were too slow a few years back. Well, they are one of the fastest teams in the league right now. They use that speed well too.
  • One other thing about speed: How often have we seen the Rangers dump the puck in, beat the team to the puck at the goal line, and then get a scoring opportunity out of that? Happens every game lately, and they aren’t even a dump and chase team. That’s called balance.
  • As Kevin noted this morning, does any team in the East really scare you? Boston is beatable. Pittsburgh is a Marc-Andre Fleury meltdown away from another playoff exit. The Rangers can take any other team in a seven game series. So if you think this team can’t make a run, try to find a team that is a legit threat. The East doesn’t have the Hawks or the Ducks or the Sharks.
  • Henrik Lundqvist is four wins from 301, and five from the Rangers record.
  • Remember when the fourth line was a liability? Depth. It matters. D. Moore was a smart pick up. Ditto Carcillo. Boyle is playing where he should be, which we said for years.
  • Only six Rangers started less than 50% of their shifts in the offensive zone (after a whistle): Rick Nash (42.9%), Marc Staal (33.3%), Anton Stralman (23.3%), and the Benoit Pouliot-Derick Brassard-Mats Zuccarello line (11.1%). John Moore did not have a single zone start in the defensive zone.
  • Four wins in a row, 11-4-1 in their last 16, 15-5-1 in their last 21, and no signs of slowing down.

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