Rangers – Hawks: Recap

The game started as many may have expected as Chicago dominated possession with the Rangers needing Henrik Lundqvist to be sharp from the outset which he was. Despite this, The Rangers did a much better job at, at least initially, of keeping the Hawks to the outside.  Lundqvist made a few good stops but didn’t need to be as huge as he was at times in Toronto on Saturday. The Rangers did take a costly penalty late in the period though, a bad sticking penalty on Erik Christensen 16 minutes in. Immediately on their first powerplay the Hawks scored. A hard point shot from Duncan Keith was deflected in front, beyond Lundqvist. The goal was credited to Tomas Kopecky. With the period coming to an end and the Rangers having mustered very little offense they did get the game-tying goal. Following good play behind the net and a scramble in front Brandon Dubinsky whacked it beyond Marty Turco to make it 1-1 with less than 30 seconds remaining.  Yet again it was the Rangers top trio producing the offense. Overall however, the Rangers made little impact offensively in the first as they were outshot in the period 13-7.

The Rangers began the second period more offensively and had a few good chances to take the lead. However the highlight of the opening few minutes was Ryan Callahan laying on a big hit on Troy Brouwer which also denied the Hawks a scoring chance. Soon after that Lundqvist was called into action again and made a point blank save on Victor Stahlberg. The second period also continued to showcase the Rangers willingness to block shots while Brian Boyle continued to play a physical game putting on another solid hit as the Rangers played a physical game overall. With just over 6 minutes left in the second Avery sent the Hawks onto their second powerplay as he got called for a delay of game. This time the Rangers did a much better job on the penalty kill as the Hawks got very little pressure on the Rangers during the PP. After two, the Hawks had an edge in shots 21-17 in a very tight game.

The Rangers began the third with their second powerplay thanks to a hustle play (to end the second) from Avery who drew the penalty from Dual scored by Duncan Keith, the reigning Norris winner. Brandon Dubinsky scored within a minute of the third on that PP following more great play from Anisimov and Callahan, with Dubi tapping in from in front. The trio have been brilliant all season and appear to be taking the next step in their development collectively. The Rangers had some strong shifts in the third highlighted by Avery’s line having a strong shift 4 minutes in. A minute later however and the Hawks tied it up on a soft goal given up by Lundqvist as Pat Kane just threw it on net from the boards. The goal wasn’t too dissimilar to the cup winning goal scored by Kane last year. Just 28 seconds later however and the Rangers had the lead again as Erik Christensen scored up high on Turco. The goal may turn out to be the most important of EC’s Ranger career given how he’s played recently and how his ice time has been cut. The end of the period was frantic and the Hawks put the Rangers under a lot of pressure which resulted in a penalty to end the game but the Rangers hung on to win 3-2.

Summing Up

The Rangers played a great game. They blocked over 30 shots again, were a lot more competitive in the face-off circle, Lundqvist was brilliant once more and the top line – led by a brilliant Brandon Dubinsky – were terrific. This was a satisfying win given the opponent and the overall effort. Now it’s about whether the Rangers can build on such a performance. Brandon Dubinsky is growing up before the fans eyes. His hustle to clear the zone at the end showed how much he wants to succeed and he finally seems to be scoring with consistency. So far Tortorella is totally justified in turning Dubi into a winger. Great effort by the entire team. Great win.