DFS Hockey 10/19 slate has Colorado and the Rangers in prime spots

The Rangers pulled a typical Rangers, allowing two early goals and putting themselves into a hole. They then climbed out of their hole in a big way, scoring five of the next six goals and shutting down the Avs for a 5-3 win. Igor Shesterkin shined, stopped all the shots he was supposed to, plus a few more, getting his first NHL win in his first NHL start.

Focus was on the Blueshirts’ process, and while Colorado did have control of the shot attempts and expected goals battle, it was closer than you would think given both teams’ status in the league. The Rangers played very well, including a solid third period to keep the pressing Avs from tying the game. Another game with good process, this time getting the win.

Avs 1, Rangers 0

Adam Fox was all over JT Compher on this, but Compher still managed to get his stick down for the deflection. Tap your stick to Compher and move on.

Avs 2, Rangers 0

Rough start for Fox, as the puck hopped over his stick and sprung Nathan MacKinnon for the break.

Avs 2, Rangers 1

Chris Kreider is still the best net front presence the Rangers have, and someone they will miss if they trade him. Not many can do what he did on this deflection.

Avs 2, Rangers 2

Tony DeAngelo’s pass got tipped en route to Mika Zibanejad, which appeared to throw off Cale Makar’s coverage. Zibanejad skated to the slowing puck and got a whack on it, past Philipp Grubauer. This was a nice give and go from them.

Rangers 3, Avs 2

Panarin drew the attention of three Avs players low, which left the passing lanes to Brady Skjei at the mid point open. Skjei let it rip, and Grubauer couldn’t see it.

Rangers 3, Avs 3

This is a miscommunication between Staal and DeAngelo. Yes, Staal was out of position because he was back skating towards the boards at the red line before the dump in by Andre Burakovsky, and then he and DeAngelo were supposed to switch. DeAngelo to the left corner, but they never switched back and DeAngelo thought they did, which left Compher open at the back door.

Rangers 4, Avs 3

I thought this was a few deflections in front, but what a pass by Fast.

Rangers 5, Avs 3

Panarin empty netter.

Shot Heatmap

This is basically what to expect from this game. The Avs got a good amount of chances and goals down low, which we saw from some of the defensive breakdowns. The Rangers really focused on shots from down low and the tops of the circles.

Skater Results

The overall game matchup looks bad here, but the Rangers really turtled in the third period. The Blueshirts really owned the first period and kept the Avs to the outside for the second. They started the third slow, but pressed late. Overall a solid game against a good team.

Igor Shesterkin was the focal point of this one, and he certainly showed that while a bit raw, he is the real deal and will only get better. The Czar is here, folks.

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