AP Photo/Frank Franklin II
The Rangers came into last night’s game on a four game winning streak, facing a team that was decimated by injuries. It had the faint smell of a trap game, but it was not to be. The Rangers dominated play for the first 40 minutes, building a 3-1 lead, before clamping down and holding on for the win.
Henrik Lundqvist proved The King is not dead yet, as he was stellar in this game too. The team had a very good game, with solid process for the full 60 minutes. I would have enjoyed it a little more if I didn’t have so many butt-clenching moments in the third, but it wouldn’t be Rangers hockey if we had an easy third period for a win. I’ll take ten out of ten points though.
On to the goals:
Rangers 1, Bruins 0
Fourth Liner Pavel Buchnevich.
Bruins 1, Rangers 1
Ryan McDonagh turned the puck over at the blue line to Anders Bjork. Nick Holden didn’t pick up Patrice Bergeron at the back door, but was lucky he whiffed on the one-timer. Too bad David Pastrnak went in untouched to tuck in the rebound.
Rangers 2, Bruins 1
Holden’s shot on goal took a ton of crazy bounces off Bruins and Rangers. Buchnevich was able to track it down and get it to the slot where Jimmy Vesey buried it.
Rangers 3, Bruins 1
Vesey gets the puck up to Kevin Shattenkirk at the point. Shatty is very good at getting the puck on net, which he does again, and Vesey is there to bury the loose puck.
Rangers 3, Bruins 2
This looked like a set play by the Bruins off the face off. On this play, you need both McDonagh and Holden to do a better job in the slot. Bergeron was covered by both but still got the shot off.
Rangers 4, Bruins 2
Rick Nash empty netter.
Score Adjusted Corsi
This is the performance you expect of this team. Against a Bruins team that is dealing with a ton of injuries, they came out and dominated from start to finish. Solid process through and through. That third period was interesting, though.
Scoring Chances (not score adjusted)
This is a high chance clinic by the Rangers. It makes sense though, as the team was up early. As the game continued, they slowly clamped down and adjusted to ensure the chances weren’t there for Boston. Par for the course, including the scary third period.
Shift Chart
Here’s the shift chart. With the Rangers up 3-1 early, there weren’t many surprises in the deployment. The Rangers really dominated play, so there was no reason for AV to change things up. The fourth line did go for an extended period of time without a shift in the second and again in the third. Weird.
This was a game that the Rangers were expected to dominate, as the Bruins were decimated by injuries. They did just that. It may have been the fourth line on most of the goals, but it was still a dominating performance with good process all around. After a poor start to the season, the Rangers have come storming back to relevancy. There are still holes, but it’s nice to see points banked.
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