miller shattenkirk

Photo Credit: AP / Chris O’Meara

For the first time this season, the Rangers have won two games in a row. They played a very good game against a very good team, something we haven’t said all season. Henrik Lundqvist was absolutely phenomenal in this one, making 27 saves –many difficult– to do his job in the win. Andrei Vasilevskiy was just as good with 33 difficult saves.

The game had an interesting flow. It felt like the Rangers actually showed up for all three periods, another first this season. They dominated the first, and then Tampa adjusted and showed why they are one of the best this year. But the Rangers held their ground, perhaps finally showing that they can be a good team when they show up and play.

It wasn’t a perfect game, there were a ton of gripes with lineups and deployment, but the process on the ice was there.

On to the goals:

Rangers 1, Bolts 0

Nikita Kucherov fell in the neutral zone, which actually gave the Rangers a 3-on-1. This was a great passing play all around.

Bolts 1, Rangers 1

Mika Zibanejad had a bunch of chances on the powerplay, but then lost the puck at the blue line. That sprung a rush. Chris Kreider blew right by Yanni Gourde on the rush and went to Victor Hedman, who was already covered by Kevin Shattenkirk. That left the pass back to Gourde open, and an easy goal.

Rangers 2, Bolts 1

JT Miller wins it for the Rangers on a phenomenal effort. He stopped the Nikita Kucherov wrap around, then just did the rest himself. Just amazing.

Score Adjusted Corsi

The Rangers actually did a very good job of staying ahead of the puck possession game, and they did it against a Stanley Cup favorite. Again, it wasn’t perfect, but you take this as a good step forward and something that can be built on. I thought the Rangers controlled the first more and were dominated more in the second, but it looks like the whole game was even.

Scoring Chances (not score adjusted)

The Rangers started this game very nicely. It’s been a while since we’ve been able to say that. The Bolts turned it up in the second half of the game, but that’s expected from one of the top teams in the league. All in all, a good effort by the Good Guys here.

Shift Chart

Here’s the shift chart. David Desharnais got benched in the third, not sure for what. He didn’t play the final 15 minutes of regulation. However it’s bad that Jon Cooper knew to start matching Steven Stamkos against the dynamic duo of Steven Kampfer and Nick Holden.

The goalies really stole the show this game. This is an example of a game that wasn’t high scoring, but was still entertaining. It really shows that fans want fast paced hockey, and that goals aren’t necessarily a part of that. Goals happen, pace is better. I’ll get off my soap box now. I’ll enjoy two in a row. Win another, and it’s called a winning streak.

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