It was a big win with some milestones for the Rangers last night in Boston. An Artemi Panarin hat trick led the way, Jonathan Quick tied Ryan Miller with 391 wins as the winningest American goaltender, Mika March rolled on, Adam Fox set a new high in goals (13) and Peter Laviolette got his 798th in this game. Plus a regulation win, inching the Rangers closer to a shot at the President’s Trophy.
Quick was the story in the first period, stopping 13 of 14 and bailing the Rangers out, helping them weather the storm early. After some adjustments, the Bluesshirts took over the game and came out with a pretty dominating victory.
The catalyst was, of course, Artemi Panarin. With the hat trick, he has 41 goals and 98 points, setting career highs and becoming the first Ranger since Jaromir Jagr to have at least 40 goals and 50 assists. Panarin is likely going to go down as the best free agent signings in Rangers history, and possibly New York sports history. The latter is only possible with a Stanley Cup, though. Panarin is simply doing things that no other Ranger has done before.
Panarin’s hat trick was the story, but it may not have happened without Quick’s performance last night. Thought to be washed up, prone to injury, and a bad signing in general, Quick has turned heads, and is now tied for the most wins by an American goaltender. Quick has been a valuable member of the Rangers, solidifying the backup goalie spot and giving chances for Igor Shesterkin to work on things midseason.
In my opinion, there is no better defenseman and perhaps no more underrated player than Adam Fox. His offense is talked about regularly, but few talk about his ability to keep the zone, his smart IQ reads in the neutral zone, or his overall play in the defensive zone. I suppose that can be the drawback of being a high scoring defenseman, as the rest of his game away from the puck is often overlooked. Especially when someone like Panarin is dominating games and headlines.
The win last night, specifically in regulation, puts the Rangers in striking distance of the President’s Trophy. They need to hold of red-hot Carolina and beat Florida in regulation on Saturday night to keep that goal alive, but it is still within reach. I know the contingent of hockey fans generally does not care about the President’s Trophy or the “curse” that can be associated with it, but historically speaking, the Rangers have pretty good odds of long playoff runs when they win the damn thing.
Plus, keeping a winning mindset as they enter what will be a grueling playoff run is always a good thing.
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