Photo by Jared Silber/NHLI via Getty Images

Photo by Jared Silber/NHLI via Getty Images

The New York Rangers decided to show up last night after no-showing both games this past weekend. The result: A complete and utter dismantling of the Pittsburgh Penguins and their +28 goal differential. The Rangers were on top of the Pens from the start, tilting the ice in their favor and using their speed to disrupt any offensive flow. The forecheck was effective, the defense was solid in containing Sidney Crosby, and Henrik Lundqvist was great.

Ten different Rangers notched points, but it was another version of the Rick Nash show. The Rangers leading scorer notched a shortie and two assists. Marc Staal and Derek Stepan also notched a pair of assists. Lundqvist made 33 saves for the shutout as well.

On to the goals:

Rangers 1, Pens 0

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This was a set play off the faceoff. Mats Zuccarello lined up on the off wing, a little bit behind the faceoff dot to get some room to maneuver. Stepan won the faceoff clean, back to Zuccarello, who let the shot loose before Robert Bortozzo or Beau Bennett could get to him. I think the shot surprised Marc-Andre Fleury.

Rangers 2, Pens 0

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Christian Ehrhoff’s attempted clear went right to Staal, who one-time the puck on net as both Nash and Martin St. Louis cut to the slot, recognizing the turnover. Bortozzo blocked the shot, but it went right to Nash, already behind Bortozzo, with MSL on the other side of the crease. If you leave those two in front of a goalie, they will score. Nash slid it to MSL who had an empty net.

Rangers 3, Pens 0

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This was a great shift by the third line, who pressured the defensemen and cycled so well that all three forwards had to come down to “help.” Eventually, Kevin Hayes’ attempted chip of the puck went off Nick Spaling’s skate right to Kevin Klein at the point. Klein one-timed it by Fleury.

Rangers 4, Pens 0

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Another powerplay goal, as the top PP unit did some solid work to retain puck possession and get shots at the net. Eventually, Derick Brassard got the puck at the far side faceoff dot and fired a laser over Fleury. No real defensive breakdown here by the Pens, they left the guy behind the net open (can’t score from there) and cut off the passing lanes. Sometimes hockey happens.

Rangers 5, Pens 0

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Staal cleared the puck on the penalty kill, and Stepan won the race to the puck pretty easily. Nash beat both Crosby and Kris Letang to the net, as both were pretty lazy in their backcheck. Nash won’t miss from point blank range.

Shift Chart (courtesy of war-on-ice):

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It’s tough to really gauge a shift chart in a blowout like this, so we can only really look at the first two periods. But the expected matchups were what we got: Dan Girardi against Sidney Crosby. Other than that, the game was a bit all over the place with matchups.

Fenwick Chart (courtesy of war-on-ice):

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The boxed area would represent score effects. The Rangers went into a shell at the end of the game, protecting their shutout. Other than that, the game was surprisingly even in terms of shot attempts.

After a pretty terrible weekend, the Rangers rebounded nicely against the “cream” of the Metro Division. Next up is a Colorado Avalanche team that crashed to Earth this season. If the Rangers play like they did last night, they should dismantle the Avs too.

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