AP Photo/Kathy Willens
Brady Skjei notched his first NHL goal as the second period came to an end en route to the Rangers extending their win streak to three in a row. Antti Raanta had another great game, and the Rangers had a solid game defensively to make it easier on him. The game wasn’t exciting by any measure, but the Rangers were still able to use their speed/forecheck and transition game to get their first two goals, which helped everyone breathe easier.
Chris Kreider and Mats Zuccarello continue to look good together, and the forwards seem to be finding a way to get some goals without three top players. Also impressive were Marek Hrivik and Nicklas Jensen, who looked good away from the puck. It’s clear Alain Vigneault is comfortable with them and Oscar Lindberg as the injury depth, which makes the Josh Jooris loss easier to manage.
It was a complete team effort last night. On to the goals:
Rangers 1, Devils 0
Mats Zuccarello and Chris Kreider did all the work on this goal. Both worked low on the defense to maintain possession. Zuccarello got position on Andy Greene to get the puck while Kreider cycled to the bottom of the circle. Zucc hit him with a great pass, and Kreider beat Cory Schneider five-hole.
Rangers 2, Devils 0
The Rangers struck shorthanded, as they took advantage of Kyle Palmieri falling as he tried to catch a clearing attempt. That sprung Kevin Hayes and J.T. Miller. Hayes made a perfect pass to Miller, who signaled to Hayes where he wanted the pass.
Rangers 3, Devils 0
Brady Skjei finally got his first career goal. Oscar Lindberg won the faceoff clean to Derek Stepan, who touched it to Skjei. Skjei let it rip, it got deflected on the way in, and he has his first goal.
Rangers 4, Devils 0
The powerplay did a good job to get pucks on net and recover when needed. Eventually there was a scramble off a Ryan McDonagh shot, and Brandon Pirri came in from the top of the circle untouched to collect the rebound. He skated right by a pair of Devils penalty killers on this.
Rangers 5, Devils 0
Nick Holden made a good head fake before dishing to Pirri with room. Pirri’s shot got behind Schneider, and Jimmy Vesey was there for the put in.
Even Strength Corsi
The Rangers really took over in the second period, dominating the Devils for long stretches. As the Rangers began to build a lead, they focused more on preserving the shutout, so we see the Devils starting to get more shot attempts. Par for the course in a 5-0 game.
Even Strength Scoring Chances
Interestingly enough, the Rangers didn’t get many quality chances, but they made them count. It’s a product of the way the Devils play, clogging the home plate area and making teams shoot from the outside. Problem for the Devils was that they were too passive and didn’t man up on the guys cutting in for rebounds or to the back door.
It’s good to see the Rangers seemingly getting back on track, even without some top guys. But I think we’d all like to see the Rangers play this tight with Henrik Lundqvist in net. The Rangers still (I think) play a different style with backups in net, so maybe it’s time to stop fronting with Hank? Whatever way you look at it, the team will need to continue to play tight defense with Hank in net. But hey, three in a row is nice, isn’t it?
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