The New York Rangers continued their torrid streak, this time knocking off the Los Angeles Kings to make it wins in four in a row and 12 of their last 13 games. The Rangers started off slow in this game, surrendering two quick goals to the Kings in the first five minutes. They then got their collective acts together, putting up four straight to take control of the game. The Kings made it a game late, but the Rangers were able to hold on.
LA had fits with the Rangers speed and pressure all night. The constant forecheck forced LA into several defensive zone turnovers, with a few leading to goals and/or penalties. The Rangers were also great in the neutral zone –outside of the first five minutes– and threw LA’s game back in their face. They clogged up the middle of the ice, forced LA wide, and forced them to dump and chase.
The powerplay continued to roll with another pair of goals. The penalty kill did another great job. The defense had its miscues, but was overall solid. The scoring was balanced up and down the lineup. Cam Talbot made big saves when he needed. Another solid team win.
On to the goals:
Kings 1, Rangers 0
Sooner or later Dan Girardi will stop sliding when it’s unnecessary. Last night was not one of those nights. Jeff Carter just waited until he was around the sliding Girardi before feeding Tanner Pearson in the slot.
Kings 2, Rangers 0
Talbot wants this one back. The defense was out of position, but this is a shot he should stop.
Rangers 1, Kings 2
Every now and then, a bounce goes your way. This was a legit crazy bounce after Dan Boyle’s shot went off Jarret Stoll’s stick. This was another powerplay goal for the Rangers. Weird to say, right?
Rangers 2, Kings 2
The Rangers had some good pressure on this shift with Kevin Hayes, Carl Hagelin, and Jesper Fast. Eventually Hayes and Hags cycled to the front as Kevin Klein moved to the mid-point with the puck. Klein saw the screen and wristed it on net, bouncing off Williams and by Jonathan Quick.
Rangers 3, Kings 2
J.T. Miller planted himself in front after he and Lee Stempniak worked behind the net and Stemp came free with the puck. Stemp moved up in the zone, and Ryan McDonagh circled low, drawing Tyler Toffoli to him. That subtle move by McDonagh opened up a path for Stempniak to the slot, where Stemp beat Quick for the lead.
Rangers 4, Kings 2
Another powerplay goal? Another powerplay goal. This time, Martin St. Louis crept to the back door and not one King picked him up. Derrick Brassard’s initial shot didn’t get through, and Boyle whacked at the rebound, but the puck wound up on MSL’s stick at the back door with an empty net.
Kings 3, Rangers 4
After a good shift by LA, Dustin Brown threw a soft backhander on net. Talbot didn’t handle it cleanly, and no one put bodies on those in front. Williams batted the puck out of the air for the goal.
Fenwick Chart:
This game was pretty even throughout. But the Rangers went into prevent defense too soon, and LA made it a game when it really shouldn’t have been.
Scoring Chances (NEW!):
War-on-ice added a scoring chance tracker, which adds a shot quality aspect to our reviews. It’s pretty neat.
While LA did a good job of limiting the quantity of Ranger chances, they did not do a good job of limiting the quality of chances. The Rangers dominated the scoring chance fight, and it showed up on the scoreboard.
Shift Chart:
There’s no rhyme or reason to the shift chart from last night. Daryl Sutter didn’t really care who played against McDonagh-Girardi. He didn’t try to match his defensemen against the Rangers either. I think this is a testament to how deep both teams are. There are no matchups to exploit.
Shot Locations:
This was another complete team win for the Rangers, who are now beating teams bound for the playoffs. Plus, they were trailing by two, on the road, against the defending champs, and then went out their and beat them into the ground. This team has been on a roll and have no signs of slowing down. AV is able to roll four lines that play fast two-way hockey. They aren’t perfect, but they are fun to watch right now.
All gifs courtesy of gifgoldmine.com.
Share:
More About:Game Wrap-ups