rangers islanders

The bar was on the floor for the Rangers to play better, and they at least cleared that. The Rangers tightened up  defensively, and while they weren’t given much offensively, still managed to eke out that win. Alex Georgiev was solid in this one, righting the ship after a rough stretch for the young goalie as he shut down the Isles. This was a big win for the Rangers in their quest to stay in the playoff hunt.

The kid line came through tonight, with a big first goal to get things rolling. K’Andre Miller added the big insurance tally, and Georgiev was steady throughout. The big thing for Georgiev was he made the big saves when he needed to, something he wasn’t doing in the games leading up to his three week absence.

A few good things:

  • The kids. Play the kids.
  • Georgiev looked revitalized.
  • Defensively better – although neutral zone play still needs some work.
  • Dominated the third with a lead. Didn’t turtle.

Rangers 1, Isles 0 – Play the kids

The kids forced the turnover and then crashed the net. They had three legit chances, with Alexis Lafreniere burying it. Once the Rangers forced the turnover, the Isles were scrambling. Jordan Eberle was the closest man to the initial two shots. That’s always a recipe for a disaster.

Rangers 2, Isles 0 – Colin Blackwell should be on a Wheaties box

This was solid passing by Artemi Panarin and Ryan Strome to set this up. There’s no real breakdown by the Isles here, it’s just a broken play where Colin Blackwell found the puck first down low. He created his own luck by crashing the net.

Rangers 2, Isles 1 – Turnover and deflection

Ryan Lindgren was forced into a turnover by Jordan Eberle and Mat Barzal, with the latter kicking the puck out to Andy Greene at the point. Lindgren didn’t have any puck support, which was a factor in the turnover. Greene’s shot hit Vitali Kravtsov’s stick and over Alex Georgiev.

Rangers 3, Isles 1 – It’s Miller Time

This was a great shift. A ton of pressure, puck possession, and puck support. It was about 45 seconds of straight zone time. When that happens, and the Rangers move the puck the way they did, goals happen. Again not a breakdown by the Isles, but a great shift by the Rangers. Good to see K’Andre Miller get back on the board.

Rangers 4, Isles 1 – Alley oop

A little flip by Mika Zibanejad after a great defensive shift, and it went all the way into the empty net.

Shot Heatmap – Much better

The Isles aren’t the best offensive team, so this was a good game for the Rangers to get their stuff in order. They did just that, owning the third and doing a great job defensively throughout.

Skater Results – Overall solid

Remember the last three games where the Rangers were atrocious? This is a big turnaround for them. Again not perfect, but a step in the right direction. The Rangers were tight defensively, which helped their overall numbers out. It’s amazing what playing defense does.

For the Rangers to stay relevant, they needed this win. Now they need about 12 more, give or take. A defensive effort like this goes a long way, but I’d like to see them generate more offensive chances too. But defense is more important for the longer term success. I’ll take it. Having Georgiev shut down the Isles when they had chances was nice too.

Charts from Evolving-Hockey and Natural Stat Trick.

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