Ryan Strome with two goals as Rangers down Caps

It wasn’t a must win, but the Rangers took a needed two points from the Caps behind two goals by Ryan Strome. I did, however, yell when Strome missed the empty net for the hat trick. That said, the Rangers now have seven of eight points in their last four games, and are beginning to find their groove. They’ve also won two in a row since the drama at the beginning of the week.

Strome’s two goals were great. Anthony Bitetto and Libor Hajek were pretty good too. The Rangers controlled the quality, which is an impressive feat against the Caps. This was a solid win for a depleted team, and something they needed given the past week’s events. This is a win you can be happy with.

Rangers 1, Caps 0 – Offensive zone pressure

The Rangers did wonders on this one. This is a perfectly executed offensive zone goal. The Rangers pressured, made the right reads, and made the right plays with the puck. Ryan Lindgren with the shot from the point that creates a rebound so the forwards can chase it down. A read to Adam Fox at the point, and a point shot deflected by Ryan Strome.

Rangers 2, Caps 0 – The Anthony Bitetto Show

What a show by Anthony Bitetto here.

Rangers 2, Caps 1 – Luck

Honestly, tip your cap to the Caps here. The puck work for the initial shot was very good, and you create your own luck. Shesterkin mishandled it, and the rebound went off old friend Carl Hagelin into the net.

Rangers 3, Caps 1 – That was purty

Igor Shesterkin came up huge, and the Rangers wound up turning it the other way. Artemi Panarin and Ryan Strome with the 2-on-1. The pass gets through and it’s a 2-on-0. This was just pretty.

Rangers 3, Caps 2 – Ovechkin

That’s it. Ovechkin.

Rangers 4, Caps 2 – Buechnevich empty net

I screamed at the TV when Strome missed the empty net for the hat trick. Then Pavel Buchnevich glided this one in. I guess two goals from Ryan Strome is enough.

Shot Heatmap – Good defensive effort by the Rangers

This is interesting. The Caps controlled the quantity, and by a lot. But the Rangers did a great job defensively, really forcing the Caps into low-danger chances. The Rangers controlled the quality, and that’s important.

Skater Results – As good as you can get in this

There’s a lot more good in the quality (xGF) than the quantity (CF) here. This jives with what we saw, as the Caps really were limited to the outside. A play that sticks out for me is the Jacob Trouba / Alex Ovechkin rush in the third period. Trouba stood up and forced a shot from a low danger zone. He won’t get credit for it, but it was a good play by Trouba.

The Rangers don’t play until Monday, but this is a good run for them. This is truly something they can build from, and now have two in a row and seven of their last eight points. This was as good as you can get, given the lineup. The Blueshirts are undefeated in the reverse retros. Just saying.

Charts from Evolving-Hockey and Natural Stat Trick.