Don’t look now, but the Rangers showed up for 60 minutes, and now have five straight periods of good process hockey. It wasn’t perfect, and no team is, but they have certainly looked much better tonight and last night than they have for most of the season. The little mistakes, specifically the ones that led to the opening and tying Devils goals, will still happen. That’s hockey. But don’t miss the forest for the trees, as the Rangers were very good in this one.
Ideally, the Rangers don’t give up a tying goal that late in the third, thus gifting a division rival a point, but they recovered nicely in the shootout. Alex Georgiev made the saves he needed to make, including a fantastic one in the shootout. His five hole work still needs fine tuning, but he made the saves when it counted. Add in both Kakko and Lafreniere scoring, and you have a full narrative busting game.
Was I the only one wondering where Marek Malik was in the shootout?
Devils 1, Rangers 0 – Bratt gets the jump on Fox
https://twitter.com/NJDevils/status/1460045058586124290
As soon as Dawson Mercer got the puck, you can see Jesper Bratt fly the zone. With Ryan Lindgren watching Mercer, Bratt got the jump on Adam Fox for the break.
Rangers 1, Devils 1 – Forgot about Fox
The Devils try to clear, but Adam Fox stops the puck with his skate and scores a backhand goal to tie game #NYR pic.twitter.com/atzvMJ6R4e
— Shayna (@hayyyshayyy) November 15, 2021
The Devils kind of forgot about Fox as the trailer here, as four Devils went below the dots after Julien Gauthier’s chance. Fox had the easy backhand chance for the goal. Credit to Gauthier for the active stick at the blue line to force the turnover.
Rangers 2, Devils 1 – Kakko gets off the schneid
Laf from Blais and Trouba on the PP! 2-1 @NYRangers pic.twitter.com/gGzmQM6Hai
— x – Rangers on MSG (@RangersMSGN) November 15, 2021
What a pass from Kaapo Kakko to Sammy Blais, that Mackenzie Blackwood barely stopped. The puck went behind him, which drew PK Subban off Alexis Lafreniere at the back door for the tap in.
Rangers 2, Devils 2 – Screen and a great shot
https://twitter.com/NJDevils/status/1460062517162614790
There’s not much to this, as Dougie Hamilton used Jacob Trouba as a screen and just ripped a beauty by Alex Georgiev. Not much Georgie can do there.
Rangers 3, Devils 2 – Here comes Kakko
Kakko's 1st of the year! 😍 pic.twitter.com/ifNrfFBEEx
— x – Rangers on MSG (@RangersMSGN) November 15, 2021
Kakko forced Ryan Graves into a turnover in the neutral zone, which sparked a rush the other way. A nice give and go with Ryan Strome, then a nice power move and he got his first goal of the season.
Rangers 3, Devils 3 – Speed through the neutral zone
https://twitter.com/NJDevils/status/1460075576350453765
Speed through the neutral zone kills, and it killed the Rangers here. Say what you want about luck, which certainly happened here, but the Devils had speed and the defense on their heels. That creates goals. If you’re looking for a fun conversation I had with myself about this one:
Good point by Joe, #NYR had all 3 forwards below the goal line.
Counter point: Devils only had 2 guys low, so NYR had them outnumbered.
Counter counter point: If you're gonna do that, you better come away with the puck.
Counter counter counter point: They were leading.
— David Shapiro (@BlueSeatBlogs) November 15, 2021
Game Flow – Rangers controlled most of the game
The Rangers played three strong periods in this one. They weren’t perfect, but that’s the kind of hockey you want to see consistently. That was a good process game for the Rangers.
This is another game the Rangers can build from. They needed process more than they needed points, and they got both in this one. Georgiev made the saves, Laf and Kakko got some goals, and all of a sudden the Rangers look like they are turning a corner. It will still be a bumpy ride, but this is a sign of good things to come.
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