antti raanta

Photo: Jim McIsaac

In a game where the Rangers needed to rebound and send a message to themselves, they once again relied on their goaltender to bail them out. Antti Raanta was brilliant in this game, making 38 saves, many of them spectacular. The Rangers were flat after the first period, getting crushed by the Lightning over the last 40 minutes of the game. It was Raanta that kept the game scoreless.

As expected, the additions of Steven Kampfer and Tanner Glass didn’t move the needle much. The Rangers certainly had a good start to the game, realizing an urge to play better. Glass had his fight, trying to motivate his teammates. Kampfer got hit from behind and almost decapitated, and then the first ended. After that, the Rangers were chasing the Bolts all around the ice, taking many penalties in the process. That said, Glass was a part of one of my favorite all time gifs, which came in this game.

Then the overtime happened, and I have to admit I love overtime. It was Mika Zibanejad who said enough was enough, finally getting off the schneid.

On to the goals:

Rangers 1, Bolts 0

Ondrej Palat had a golden chance to end it just before this, but missed the net with Ryan McDonagh on him. The puck wound up getting thrown to empty ice, where McDonagh picked it up as Zibanejad got behind the defense. Game. Set. Match.

Gifs of the GameĀ 

Very clear that McDonagh won the Toss a Palat contest.

Good on Miller to face wash guys and show he’s not going to take any guff. But dude, don’t face wash your teammates, even if it is Glass.

Even Strength Corsi

That first period was pretty solid. Getting a good amount of chances, and many of them quality chances. But then the second and third happened, and the Rangers got steamrolled. Luckily Raanta was superb.

A win is a win, and when you’re struggling, you want the wins. But this was not a good process win. With another game tomorrow, and limited ice time for both Glass and Kampfer, hopefully the Rangers will be rested.

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