39-17-3

After the rousing Stadium Series come back win, the Rangers wave continued through Dallas with a hard-fought 2-1 victory. Then, it was on to New Jersey, where an absolute dominant 5-1 clinic was laid out. Next was a toe-to-toe war with Philadelphia where the Flyers did everything they could to tie the game, but the Rangers squeaked the 2-1 lead through the final seconds (seriously, the Flyers barely missed a goal with 6 seconds remaining).

That brought us to 10 wins in a row and this evening’s 5th game in a week versus Columbus. They’re not good, wallowing in the bottom quarter of the league. But what I was afraid of happening, happened. In the 10th back-to-back of the season, the Rangers ran out of gas. The Flyers took a lot out of them, it was 60 minutes of peak physical hockey. Columbus dominated the entire game. Quick did everything he could to keep his team in the game but they couldn’t keep up. The Rangers managed to tie the game twice but the mistakes kept stacking up. Slow and sloppy, the Rangers gave up an absurd amount of center-ice high-chance slot shots.

This has been a crazy month for the Rangers. This is only the 3rd time in franchise history they’ve won ten times in a row. 1971-72 was the last season it happened. In the 2015-16 season, they hit nine. This week in particular was arguably one of the best stretches they’ve had in recent memory. Crazy comebacks, tight wins, fantastic defense, Shesterkin returning to form (currently 6 wins in a row) and Matt Rempe hit the NHL and everyone knows about him now. Rempe keeps getting challenged during warm-ups to fight and he’s like ‘OK!” I hope it stops because it’s reached the point where he’s fighting more than boxers do. Getting into full-fledged fist fights every other day is not healthy.

It’s been an absolute rollercoaster. It’s disappointing that the fuse that was lit almost a month ago just fizzled out. Losing to Columbus like that is rather embarrassing and that’s the second time they’ve won this season (Columbus is now at 19 regulation wins). This week is much calmer. Starting with Columbus at MSG on Wednesday, I think it’s safe to say revenge will be had. Then it’s Toronto (who are now playing well) on Saturday and that’s it for the week. The Rangers were so close to a flawless month! But thems the breaks and the Rangers remain at the top of the league, behind Vancouver by one point and tied for second with Boston at 81 points.

36-16-3

Seven wins in a row and it has been some ride.

The last game of January was a sound win against Ottowa and February started with Quick in net to defeat Colorado and Tampa. Igor took over for a squeaky OT win against Chicago which brings us to this week’s three wins.

Igor got his first lights-out game of the season against Calgary, who came into the Garden hot and the Rangers played exceptionally well to win. The defense made some serious moves and Igor looked like his old self in that 2-0 win. Vesey’s hustle to seal the win with the second goal likely got him the first-line gig since Wheeler got a season-ending leg injury against Montreal.

Next, Quick was in net for the next win against Montreal in a goofy 7-4 game where defense on both sides seemed to be optional. The Rangers were fortunate enough to have the first flurry of goals and were able to answer back on each Canadian goal to keep a buffered lead.

Tonight’s Stadium series versus the Islanders at MetLife Stadium was another one for the books. Rangers took the lead at the very beginning with their first shot on goal and then the defense fell apart, seeing the Islanders quickly go up 3-1 in the first period. Then 4-1 at the start of the second. The Rangers rallied back to 4-3, but again fell behind at the start of the third, 5-3. The Islanders then left the door open with successive penalties and the Rangers were able to run through it starting with only 4 minutes left in the game.

Panarin’s final magic trick in overtime stole this game 6-5 from the Islanders who played the game better for longer. Igor let in, I’d say one meatball. There was nothing he could do against the deflected goals (something Sorokin knows well) but the defense kept letting him down. Miller let one guy go by him, Brodzinski inadvertently chipped a puck to his open opponent, who was open because Lindgren got an incidental high stick to the face which put him down, letting his man go undefended.

But…everyone’s been yelling for the top players to put some points up and they did! Trocheck had a hell of a game with two glorious goals (one amazing deflection off of Panarin and a ferociously scrappy battle in front of the net). Plus, he had a fight that turned the momentum entirely in the Rangers’ favor. Another bonus was Matt Rempe playing in his first game. He didn’t play many minutes but on his first shift, he fought an NHL veteran and held his own. He should since he’s 6′ 7″ and probably has a 4-foot reach. So hey, we’ll take all the two points and move forward. We could do with less of the Rangers’ bad habits though.

Next week: Dallas, NJ, Philly. Statistically, Dallas is easily the best team and the biggest challenge. The other two are major rivalries so they aren’t going to be easy. They could get away with losing to Dallas and beat NJ and Philly to keep their solid grip on first place in the Metro. The Rangers are currently tied for third place in the league, so everyone is gunning for them.

33-16-3

The week of games has seen the Rangers extend their win streak to 4. Colorado, Tampa, and Chicago. Colorado and Tampa were close and difficult games where all aspects of the game were tested. It looks like the All-Star break came at a good time and opened the door for a team reset. This week we’ve seen fewer mistakes in general, better passing, and better defense. Quick was given an extended stay in net to give Shesterkin time to practice more and try and get his head back in the game (he’s been missing many pucks he’s more than capable of stopping). Quick looked rock solid as he was fast, focused, and aggressive. He only gave up one goal each to Colorado and Tampa.

While they defeated Chicago 4-3, it was done in overtime after rallying to go from one goal down to 3 goals up. A lazy third period was dominated by Chicago, one of the worst teams in the league, with them scoring twice in the last 6 minutes of the game. Thankfully Zibabejad scored in OT and there was less celebration and more a sigh of relief on that one.

The reoccurring problem of the killer drive fading away came back very quickly. The first line is barely scoring points (that was Zibanejad’s first goal in 8 games. Only his 15th of the season with 30 left to go) which bangs the drum that a really good RW for that line is desperately needed. Everyone knows Wheeler ain’t it and it looks like Kaapo Kakko is starting to gel with Cuylle and Brodzinski on the third line so they likely won’t move him back up (plus there are rumors he’ll be used as a trade chip). Something needs to be done to get the first line firing again, but it’s not like Zibanejad isn’t trying. I think a big part of it is that teams have figured out how to counter him. He’s too predictable (esp on the power play) and the first line just isn’t aggressive enough. They are obsessed with one-timers or deflections. Zibanejad needs to get directly in front of the net more.

In addition, the Power Play is now dead. 0-13 in the last 5 games I believe. The Penalty Kill has been solid, so that balances things out a bit. One bright spot is that Lafreniere is playing well and if he keeps improving he’s going to be a massive threat come playoff time. The problems that remain: bad passes, less than 60 minutes of effort and focus, and Shesterkin needs to find his mojo again.