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AP Photo/Kathy Willens

Despite heavy pressure from a formidable St Louis team, the Rangers held out and maintained their win streak, taking advantage of their offensive opportunities and scoring six goals in the process. The game easily could have been closer for the Rangers had it not been for some phenomenal saves by Henrik Lundqvist. While the Rangers definitely need to tighten up their game in a lot of aspects, especially defensively, it’s hard to be upset with six goals against one of the toughest teams in the NHL.

This was yet another game where the Rangers did not trail, which is becoming a great trend during this win streak. Goaltending is hot, scoring is hot, and both are picking up a troubled blue line that is struggling. This is a team that isn’t even clicking on all cylinders yet.

As always, you can view the full videos on our video page here. All GIFs are on nyrgifs.comfiltered under the date of the game. On to the goals:

Rangers 1, Blues 0

A great quick cycle play leads to a goal right off the face off. Brassard wins the faceoff, Nash sends it down low to Zuccarello, who then feeds it to Brassard for the finish in front. Great work from the first line here.

Rangers 2 Blues 0

What a goal by Mats Zuccarello. Rick Nash has a takeaway in the neutral zone and passes it to Brassard, who then hits Zucc with a pass as he’s breaking down the wing. Zuccarello then puts an unbelievable move on Jay Bouwmeester, cuts to the middle, and snaps the shot right in front for the goal.

Rangers 3 Blues 0

Two sensational touch passes and a clinical finish from Kevin Hayes for this goal. The play starts with a faceoff win by Hayes and then the defensemen setting up the play in the Rangers own end. As Hayes cuts up the middle of the ice Stalberg chips it from the boards at the redline to Oscar Lindberg, who then flicks it over to Hayes as he’s entering copious space. After a quick bit of stickhandling Hayes then slots it home for the Rangers’ third goal.

Rangers 3 Blues 1

The Blues get one back just a few minutes after the previous goal. Following a faceoff win and a shot from the point by Colton Parayko, Henrik Lundqvist drops the rebound as Dmitri Jaskin beats Boyle and Yandle to the front of the net to cash in on Lundqvist’s error. You’ve got to imagine that Hank wants this one back.

Rangers 3 Blues 2

 An absolutely sensational goal from Vladimir Tarasenko. Following a long clear, Lundqvist comes out of the net to make a long pass to Viktor Stalberg in the neutral zone. Tarasenko manages a takeaway at mid ice and then begins breaking down the wing, where he lets it rip just at the top of the circle, hitting the net above the glove of Lundqvist.

Rangers 4 Blues 2

Rangers’ sustained pressure leads to a goal here, starting with Dan Girardi working the puck down low from the point. He then hustles to the net as Kreider chips it to Stepan, who then sends it back up to the opposite point for Miller, who’s up top in lieu of McDonagh, who’s covering Girardi’s point. Miller then hits the slapshot, and it deflects into the net off Lehtera’s leg.

Rangers 4 Blues 3

Some nice passing from the Blues on the powerplay as they shorten the Rangers’ lead to one goal. Colton Parayko sends the puck to Robby Fabbri at the half boards, who then passes to Scott Gomez down low. Gomez sends it right back to Fabbri, whose movement down ice has opened up a passing lane across the slot at this point. Fabbri then sends the pass over to Brouwer for a quick finish and a powerplay goal.

Rangers 5 Blues 3

Another powerplay goal, this time for the Rangers, as Ryan McDonagh notches his second of the season. Some pretty passing here too, with McDonagh moving the puck from the point over to the right circle for Zuccarello, who then feeds it across the high slot for Derek Stepan. All of this puck movement creates ample space for the captain, who winds up the shot off a pass from Stepan. Nice job here too by Rick Nash to screen the goalie in front.

Rangers 6 Blues 3

An empty net goal from Dan Girardi seals the deal. JT Miller chases a clearance down towards the St Louis end, where it’s battled for down low by Kreider and Stepan, who eventually get it back to Miller behind the net. Miller then finds Girardi coming in at the right circle, who then blasts it into the empty net for the final goal of the evening.

Score Adjusted Corsi

chart

The Rangers kept pace early in the game but St Louis kept up the pressure in the latter periods in terms of shot attempts. Still though, the Rangers had spurts of offense as we can see in this chart, and continued scoring despite being behind in terms of puck possession.

Scoring Chances

nyrstlscoringchances

This chart might be a little concerning for some Rangers fans. We can see that while the Rangers did in fact have their chances, and did maintain the lead, the Blues were more consistent with their scoring opportunities while the Rangers flatlined a couple of times.

Individual Corsi

Screen shot 2015-11-12 at 10.41.18 PM

This chart might be similarly concerning for some fans. We can see that while the Derek Stepan line was a standout in terms of possession for the Rangers, nearly every player for the Blues played a better possession game than the majority of the Rangers’ lineup.

Shift Chart

nyrstlshifts

The lines were pretty much what we’ve come to expect at this point, and Alain Vigneault obviously sought to match up his top defensive pairing against the Vladimir Tarasenko line.

Shot Location

Screen shot 2015-11-12 at 10.46.43 PM

Another chart that’s not exactly flattering for the Rangers, although it is a testament to the kind of goaltending performance put up by Henrik Lundqvist against the Blues. The Rangers let up a substantial amount of shots down in front of the net, although a decent amount of them ended up blocked. It also might be troubling to note that the Rangers were largely kept outside in their shot attempts, but the Rangers did ultimately capitalize on their offensive chances and came out on top.

All in all the Rangers put up a solid effort against a relentless and talented St Louis team. While their defensive game left a lot to be desired, the question of whether or not the Rangers’ success is hiding deeper issues is a broader discussion entirely. What we saw against the Blues was perhaps not the prettiest game in terms of process, but it included some sensational goals and individual performances, and was at the very least entertaining hockey.

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