Rangers finally score a few, beat Columbus to right the ship

The New York Rangers righted the ship, beating the Columbus Blue Jackets by a score of 2-1. This was a game that the Rangers really didn’t deserve to win, but Henrik Lundqvist was absolutely outstanding, and stole this game for the good guys. Hank made 35 saves –most of them spectacular, when you look at the shot location chart– to carry the Rangers to the much-needed victory.

Marc Staal and Chris Kreider scored the goals for the Rangers, while the returning Derek Stepan contributed a pair of assists. But it wasn’t all pretty. The Blue Jackets dominated the majority of the game, getting most of the shot attempts throughout the game. The difference here was that their very young defense was prone to mistakes, and they gave the Rangers a lot of prime opportunities. The big gaffe is the one that cost them the game.

On to the goals:

Rangers 1, Blue Jackets 0

There’s no real issue on this goal. There was a mad scramble in front, and Staal was able to sneak a shot by Sergei Bobrovsky. Hockey happens.

Rangers 2, Blue Jackets 0

You can see this seam and this breakaway for Kreider coming. All Stepan had to do was put the puck on his tape, which he did.

Blue Jackets 1, Rangers 2

Bob made a huge save on Rick Nash on the doorstep, and Ryan Johansen sent the puck all the way to Scott Hartnell, who snuck in behind Dan Girardi and Ryan McDonagh. Hartnell fired it over Hank, and Hank was pissed. It was a rocket, and I think Hank thought he should’ve made the save.

Fenwick Chart:

Oh boy this is ugly. Just a note: We can use Fenwick to measure how the team played to an extent, but in terms of outcome, winning the possession battle gives you a basic weighted coin flip advantage (60/40).

Scoring Chances:

This is a lot closer and more in line with what some expect, considering some of the saves Bobrovsky had to make. The Rangers went into a bit of a shell though, and I think that’s way too soon to play prevent defense.

Individual Corsi:

This is in line with what we saw in the Fenwick chart.

Shift Chart:

Girardi and McDonagh got the Johansen like, which really isn’t unexpected. That’s the basic matchup we expect, and then the rest of the pairs/forwards get their starts based on puck location. Standard AV.

Shot Locations:

Ugly again. When on their win streak, the Rangers really limited the shot attempts in the high risk areas. This is the fourth straight game they allowed a ton of them. That’s not a good thing.

The Rangers get a day off tomorrow before an afternoon matinée with the Penguins. This is one of those games where you hope the ship is righted, and you hope they take the momentum into Pittsburgh in another four point swing game with playoff implications. It’s not a must win (since the top eight in the East are set already), but it’s a nice-to-have-for-playoff-seeding game.

All gifs courtesy of gifgoldmine.com.