41-19-10
The New York Rangers swept the week. Got revenge on Washington, beat Pittsburgh two games in a row, and ate Nashville for dinner as an afterthought. It’s the stuff dreams are made of.
Washington has a lot of injured players and it looks like they won’t make the playoffs. After losing in OT to Pittsburgh in a close game, the Rangers took over in the next match-up thanks to Kreider. With Pittsburgh limping after that one, the Rangers buried them 6-0. All the lines have started to click and Igor is in Vesna trophy form. That triumphant night was followed up by a 7-0 win over the injured Nashville Predators (they’re missing 5 players). It was basically the same game back to back. The opponent started well in the few opening minutes and then the Rangers simply took over. No puck watching, fast feet, accurate passes, and more shooting. Special teams working well. All of the scoring threats on the team are making their presence known.
K’Andre had an amazing 4-point game last night. Trouba is playing at his best. Zibanejad and Kreider are flying high as both push their goal totals well into the 30s. Tarasenko is getting way more involved as is Kane. We’re starting to see them work well with multiple players now. Mikkola has been doing well with his increased ice time, he’s turning into a great defensive asset to the point where they may sign him in the off-season. Lafreniere and Kakko are monsters along the board and Chytil finally scored again. All three guys could use a bump in goals but they are contributing with the occasional assist and their line is simply difficult to play against. They are putting serious work in out there. Despite not having tangible points on the stat sheet to point to, they are making a difference. If they can start scoring again, forget about it. The fourth line of Vesey, Goodrow, and Motte is the best 4th line the team has had in years. This means more people are spreading out the time on ice which will reduce the chance of exhaustion. That’s really important in the playoffs.
It’s wild to see them hit this groove and Lindgren still isn’t back yet. With Carolina twice this week, I’m hoping they kept him out to ensure he’d be okay to play against them. Ben Harpur will likely sit when Ryan comes back. He’s been doing well recently but once Fox gets his long-time partner back, hoo boy.
The only question is if they can keep this focus and effort together. That test is next. Carolina is no joke even with them missing one of their best forwards to injury. My only complaint about the team is too many penalties (looking at Goodrow and Mikkola) but the PK has been strong this week. Fewer penalties are needed as giving your opponent an advantage needs to be avoided.