The Rangers are now one of the best road teams in the NHL. Driven by the power of friendship between Vincent Trocheck and JT Miller in the shootout, the Rangers won their ninth road game of the year, tied for the league lead with the LA Kings . There is a new vibe on the bench, as the Rangers now have three wins in a row and have won four of their last five. From Sam Carrick punching above his weight class (literally) going toe-to-toe with Mathieu Olivier and a large portion of the bench mobbing him as he walked down the tunnel, to the top six looking more cohesive as a unit with Trocheck back, the Rangers are a much more enjoyable watch as the results match the process.

Mika Zibanejad had another great game, scoring the only goal in regulation on the power play. Zibanejad is now only 5 power play goals away from tying his best friend Chris Kreider and Camille Henry for the Rangers all-time power play goals record. The goal was also his 600th point as a Ranger, which I have to admit makes me feel really old. ( I am 5 months younger than Mika ).

It seems like it was only yesterday that the Rangers acquired him–much to the chagrin of part of the fanbase that loved Derrick Brassard. Now, with 62 games left in the season, I think you can pretty much lock it in that Mika is going to become this franchise’s best power play goal scorer in history. Mika comes under fire a lot after last season, but he is still a helluva player no matter how you slice it, and the Rangers are a much better team with him in the lineup.

There were questions about putting Igor Shesterkin in net against Columbus with the Red Wings coming to town the next day, but it was proved to be the right call. Shesterkin was locked in pretty much all game. The first 10 minutes were a bit of a slog as both teams mustered up just 8 shots on goal, but then the Rangers woke up and Igor didn’t see much work, with his busiest period being the second period where he faced 12 shots. Goaltending has its ebbs and its flows over the course of an 82 game season, so it’s good to see Shesterkin looking like the best in the world every night.

Circling back to the Zibanejad goal, the power play has been much better the last week or so. They are getting good chances and the Rangers are finally converting. The early season power play struggles were very annoying to watch with all that talent, but we knew the dam was going to break eventually. It might be an aging powerplay, but when they are on they are still one of the best in the league.

We can never take for granted when the team has elite special teams, as we witnessed even just earlier this season. When special teams can’t get anything going, it can really bring a team’s mood down, and then the self-inflicted mind games begin. At least the penalty killing prowess has been consistent all year!

The soft spot in the schedule ends on Sunday night with Detroit, before the Rangers take on some top teams in the NHL over the next couple of weeks. Another win to make it four in a row and five of six would be ideal, wouldn’t you say?

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