Rangers win the distraction game, start to right the ship

The Rangers really needed to win the distraction game. That they did. After a boring first two periods, the Rangers turned it on in the third. The veterans gave the Rangers the win in this one, and it was something they sorely needed. But let’s not discount how great both K’Andre Miller and Adam Fox looked tonight.

The Rangers did lose Brendan Smith to a likely concussion, which is going to be a problem. However they didn’t miss a beat. Also worth noting that the process wasn’t exactly stellar in this one, with the Penguins controlling play for most of the game. But this is one of those games where they needed the regulation win, and they got it. Process be damned, they needed the win.

Penguins 1, Rangers 0 – Wild bounce

It’s easy to blame K’Andre Miller for letting Jason Zucker behind him here, but this is almost entirely due to the crazy bounce off the boards. Miller will learn about the live boards.

Rangers 1, Penguins 1 – Roo Roo Roo Kevin Roo(ney)

I have no idea what Yannick Weber (#3) was doing here. He chased the puck from one circle to the other, and that left Kevin Rooney all alone at the back door. He got 3 whacks before a Penguin got to him.

Rangers 2, Penguins 1 – It’s a powerplay goal!

The head fake from Adam Fox. Then the best net-front presence in the league Chris Kreider with the deflection.

Rangers 3, Penguins 1 – Panarin at the buzzer

I laughed at this one, mostly because I had just questioned why they couldn’t score on an empty net.

Shot Heatmap – Penguins Controlled

It’s not really breaking news that the Rangers were dominated by the Penguins. But they won, and that’s all that matters. Let’s not overthink this one tonight.

Player Results

Again, let’s not overthink this one tonight.

The Rangers won the distraction game, and they really needed to. All the distractions from the past two days are behind them. This is one they can build from, assuming the injuries stop coming.

Charts from Evolving-Hockey.