Defense was on the back burner in Arizona, as the Rangers’ elite talent delivered in an 8-5 win with milestones galore. It’s another game where the Rangers surrendered a bunch of chances and goals, but sometimes you need to win track meets. Teams that win in the playoffs can win many types of games, and this is just one type.
There so many great accomplishments for a bunch of Rangers last night. To start, Jonathan Quick is now the winningest US Born goaltender in NHL history with his 392nd win. A terrific accomplishment given where Quick was at the end of last season. Few could have seen this kind of season coming from him.
Among other milestones, Alexis Lafrenière had a smorgasbord of firsts. He notched his first hat trick, his first career 5 point game, and he eclipsed 50 points this season. Hopefully this is just the first of many milestones for Lafreniere.
Lafrenière got a lot of heat for his performance last season. The term “bust” was thrown around pretty willingly, and he lacked a sort of consistency while he played for Gerard Gallant. Now finally given a real shot with an actual coach playing with structure, Lafreniere is a key cog on one of the best lines in the NHL.
That second line was phenomenal last night, with Artemi Panarin notching a four point game, now with 107 on the season. Vincent Trocheck also matched his career high in points with 75, and seems like a guarantee to break it next week.
Modern day “Mr. Ranger,” Chris Kreider joined in on the milestone fun, scored his 300th career NHL goal. Kreider has never been a playmaker type, but he’s shattered his career high in assists totals this season, and with a hot run to close out the season, could hit his career high in points (77).
Where Kreider will really shine is the playoffs, where he’s been known to be a 16-game player and score clutch goals. If he heats up heading into the postseason, he’s capable of carrying them through a series.
All these milestones are great, but the real story was Jonathan Quick becoming the all-time winningest American goaltender. To break the record while playing for his childhood team is hopefully just one chapter of a storybook final two seasons of his career.
We all know what the final chapter could be. And that hunt begins in three weeks.
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