Rangers Vs. Ducks: Keys To The Game
The New York Rangers are coming off their best victory of the season, bullying the San Jose Sharks for a 5-2 victory. Everything came together in that game, Ryan Callahan and Brandon Dubinsky looked like their old selves, Michael Del Zotto continued his improvement and Marian Gaborik looked lethal despite not registering a point.
All year we have talked about the Rangers needing to build momentum from complete team efforts, and since the win over the Sharks was the first of such efforts, it starts now.
Here are they keys to tonight's game:
Keep Cally Going: Callahan had his best game of the year, against the Sharks, scoring two goals and adding an assist in the game. We don't need to go into details about how important the secondary scoring is for this team, and Callahan is a big part of that. He's back on track, and it's no surprise that Dubinsky isn't far behind.
Join me after the jump for more.
Ryan McDonagh ... Stay Ryan McDonagh: I honestly can't sing enough praises about McDonagh. The kid hasn't just exceeded expectations since being raised to the top defensive pairing, he's blown the roof off. Three goals, two assists and is already inching towards blowing away his offense numbers last year, after just 10 games. Montreal fans honestly must be sick seeing all the success he is having with the Rangers.
Keep Hustling: The Rangers have done a good job the past two games working hard in both zones. They have been particularly effective at cycling the puck in the offensive zone, especially the Brad Richards-Dubinsky-Callahan line. One of the keys to keeping the Rangers defense from being overworked is keeping the puck in the offensive zone as much as possible. This was on display against the Sharks, let's see it in action against the Ducks.
Stay Confident Marian Gaborik: Against the Sharks Gaborik was a beast, but he didn't registered any points. He's been the Marian Gabroik of old this season, and it's been a big boost for the Rangers' offense. He can't get frustrated when he is playing well and not putting the puck into the net. Hopefully he nets a couple of goals tonight, but as of right now he's been one of the Rangers most dangerous scorers. Now he needs to keep it up.
