19-11-5
The Penguins stopped the Rangers’ win streak at 7 (just after their win streak was ended) marking the best run of the season so far. The Penguins have hit their stride as well, it was a close game marred by bad penalties. In the following game, the Rangers thundered back against the Islanders, making a 5 point lead in the standings. Right now the Rangers have a wild card spot in the playoff standings. We’re suddenly very close to the halfway point of the season which means the playoff race is now taking shape. Eyes are now on the prize.
The Rangers are 8-2 of the last 10 at the Christmas break so going back next week (Washington, Tampa, Florida) they have a great wave of confidence. It’s going to be put to the test as the only team in that trio that isn’t doing well are Florida (really odd that they are under .500). The Metro division is incredibly tight. Carolina is killing it now with 50 points for first. The Devils have hit a brick wall at the same time the Rangers jumped over theirs which has allowed everyone to catch up to their once ridiculous record (which is still very good at 22-10-2). The Rangers are now only 3 points behind them. There are only 2 bad teams in the Metro, the rest are very close to the point where at the end of the week, the standings could drastically change. Carolina is the only one with any cushion and they’re playing at the top of their game. Where the Devils have faltered, Boston has had no problems retaining their game. 27-4-2 which is ludicrous. That’s 6 points ahead of Carolina and Vegas has gotten wobbly but is at a fantastic 49 points. No Devil’s level panic for them.
The Rangers are playing like we expected coming off of last season. Kakko, Lafreniere, and Chytil are absolutely heating up now. We’re looking at head and shoulders gains in points for career best seasons with all of them, which is incredibly exciting. They’re going to be adding a stack of points this season, giving the team much needed scoring depth. Kakko in particular could be catching fire very soon. He made a bad turnover that led to a goal in Thursday’s game but he bounced back with a righteous game winning goal. Miller is making one fantastic play after another. Julian Gauthier has made his case for never being scratched in favor of Sammy Blais. Panarin and Trocheck are scoring goals. Trocheck in particular looks like he’s much more comfortable now (he’s an excellent linemate to Kreider). Trouba is making fewer mistakes and has scored 2 goals. Fox and Zibanejad are reliable as ever. Vesey is doing great, he’s really made a case for himself that he’s rightfully playing in the NHL after getting a professional tryout with this team. It helps that he played with Kreider at the beginning of his career.
The Penalty Kill has been doing well with one bad game against the Penguins. Power Play has regained its potency but still needs work. Too many teams have adjusted to Zibanejad being the biggest threat so changes need to be made to get the potency up. They were 1-6 against the Islanders. They’re currently 13th in the league and it needs to be top 10. They can do that.
There’s a whole lot of season to go, but things are looking good. The momentum also gives the same vibes as last season where the right moves at the trade deadline that’s coming in about 2 months could mean a deep playoff run. There are like 2 missing pieces to making a dominant team.
Lot’s to be thankful for! Stay safe and warm!