Rangers dominate Bruins as Keith Kinkaid gets the shutout

The Rangers looked like a different team today. Less than two days after getting dismantled by the Bruins, the Rangers flipped the script and dominated the Bs. The Blueshirts controlled the game from start to finish with near perfect execution from puck drop. The game itself wasn’t overly exciting, as it was a low-event game, but the Rangers showed they can play the defensive struggles just as well as the track meets. Keith Kinkaid was good as well, notching his first shutout of the season.

The Rangers allowed just 37 shot attempts throughout the game, and even fewer (24) at even strength. The Bruins has zero high danger chances. It was a clinic of limiting both quality and quantity. Kinkaid didn’t have to do much in this one, but he was there when they needed him. Add in two beautiful passes from the top players on the Rangers, and you have a complete team victory.

Rangers 1, Bruins 0 – Kreider screen

The Rangers won the offensive zone faceoff, which Joe seemed surprised about on the broadcast. Pavel Buchnevich got the puck to K’Andre Miller at the point while Chris Kreider got to his home in front of the net. Miller’s wrister clearly wasn’t seen by Jaro Halak because of the screen.

Rangers 2, Bruins 0 – Rare bad defense by the Bruins

This is rare bad defense by the Bruins. Three guys were watching Mika Zibanejad with the puck as Kreider cut from the top of the circle to the back door. All Zibanejad had to do was ensure the pass got there, which he did beautifully.

Rangers 3, Bruins 0 – Another beautiful pass

https://twitter.com/HeresYourReplay/status/1370830425682219010

First, what a move by Colin Blackwell to avoid the hit in the neutral zone. This led to the clean zone entry. Artemi Panarin drew two defenders to him low, while Blackwell drew a third in front of the net. This left Ryan Strome wide open, and Panarin, like Zibanejad before him, threaded the needle with a perfect pass.

Rangers 4, Bruins 0 – Forechecking gold

Zibanejad and Kreider were in on the forecheck, which led to disrupting the Bruins completely. The puck wound up in the slot, where Buchnevich wasted no time.

Shot Heatmap – Boston got nothing

Neither team got much, but the Rangers had the clear defensive advantage. The Bruins got nothing in front. They aren’t a great offensive team to begin with, and this is perfect execution.

Skater Results – Dull and good, checks out

A boring game, but a dominant game. That was the theme today, and this shows it. Worth noting that Brendan Lemieux was benched after his stupid hit on Trent Frederic. He didn’t play the rest of the second period, but got normal time in the third. However Lemieux was exceptionally bad, relatively speaking, in this one.

This was a big time rebound game for the Rangers. Getting Keith Kinkaid the shutout was a cherry on top of a near perfect game for the Rangers. Given the next four are against the Flyers and Caps, this is a big confidence boost heading into next week.

Charts from NaturalStatTrick and Evolving-Hockey.