Rangers defense shows up, Talbot blanks Flyers

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The New York Rangers defense played an excellent game last night, doing a good job of keeping the Philadelphia Flyers to the outside for 31 chances –all stopped by Cam Talbot– en route to a 2-0 blanking on national television. Talbot was also excellent, stopping 13 of those 31 in the third period to preserve the 2-0 lead. The effort last night was a complete 180 from Tuesday’s against the Tampa Bay Lightning, and if not for Steve Mason, this would have been a lot better than 2-0.

Kevin Klein continued his usual scoring ways, notching the eventual game winner in the first period after a blown coverage by Wayne Simmonds. Rick Nash gave the Rangers a cushion on the powerplay, putting home an easy goal after a pretty sweet passing play with Derek Stepan and Martin St. Louis. Dominic Moore, who won’t show up on the scoreboard, was sensational as well.

On to the goals:

Rangers 1, Flyers 0

Brassard and Carl Hagelin had a good shift here, working behind the net to keep possession before Hagelin eventually found Klein in the slot for the goal. Simmonds was caught watching the puck as Klein came in from the point, which allowed the defender to get so open for the chance.

Rangers 2, Flyers 0

The third straight game with a powerplay goal, this one was all creativity. Stepan faked a shot, but if you look at his head, you see him eyeing St. Louis the entire way. Stepan hits MSL, who knows Nash is cutting to the back door. Precision at its finest. It’s plays like this that make you realize how talented this roster is when they want to be. One thing of note on this goal: Sean Couturier’s stick is in the wrong passing lane. It’s such a minor miscue, especially for someone of his caliber, but a miscue nonetheless.

Shift Chart:

Courtesy of war-on-ice

Unsurprisingly, Marc Staal and Dan Girardi got the Claude Giroux/Jakub Voracek/Brayden Schenn line. Kevin Klein and Matt Hunwick, as the de facto second pairing, got the Simmonds/Couturier/Matt Read line. Worth noting that Kevin Hayes, Jesper Fast (despite “having the coaches trust in all situations”), Tanner Glass, and Anthony Duclair didn’t see the ice in the final five minutes. The very large bars at the end of the game are rather amusing too.

Fenwick Chart:

Courtesy of war-on-ice

You can see where the Rangers went into a bit of a shell at the end of the game. That’s when Philly pulled Mason. It’s considered even strength, even though it’s 6-on-5 hockey. That’s the only reason why the Flyers managed to finish ahead of the Rangers in shot attempts in this game.

This was an excellent bounce back game for the Rangers, who were utterly embarrassed earlier this week by Tampa. Next up is Buffalo, the laughing stock of the league. So that has trap game written all over it.