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Rangers at Sharks: Shattenkirk, Lundqvist Get Job Done in Shootout

Blueshirts surrendered late goal, but got job done in shootout.

  • Happy Halloween to everyone on behalf of the staff of everyone here at “Booshirt Banter.”
  • It was the first late start of the road trip for fans watching on the east coast, and it wouldn’t surprise me if a number of individuals fell asleep and missed the third period and beyond.
  • The first period saw both teams score a goal a piece with Brent Burns getting the Sharks ahead at 3:22, and Mats Zuccarello tied the game 59 seconds later at 4:21 of the period. The period ended with the Rangers out shooting the Sharks 17 to 6, and it was a decent road start.
  • The second period was scoreless, but the Sharks were able to start giving back to the Rangers out shooting them by a margin of 14-6 with the two period total sitting at 23 to 20 in favor of the Blueshirts.
  • The third period was the most exciting period in regulation, and Chris Kreider got things going early scoring his fifth goal of the season just 1:13 into the period. The Sharks would answer seven minutes later when Timo Meier, I still have no idea how he wasn’t a mandatory inclusion in the Erik Karlsson trade, tallied his ninth goal of the season.
  • Hank would probably like to have Meier’s goal back as it was a two-on-one where he leaned a tad early, but was also a well placed shot.
  • Kreider responded just under two minutes later tallying his second goal of the game, and his sixth of the season. Zuccarello picked up the primary assist and Mika Zibanejad picked up the secondary assist.
  • Late in the third is when things got interesting, just like it did vs. the Los Angeles Kings, and it was déjà vu all over again, except this time the Blueshirt had a lead.
  • With 13.2 seconds left in the game, the Sharks won an offensive zone faceoff with Martin Jones pulled. The puck was worked behind the net at with about six seconds left Brady Skjei was pushed off the puck. Neal Pionk went behind the net to retrieve the puck and fanned on it which enable Joe Thornton to pick up the loose puck with three seconds left./
  • From there one of the greatest passers in NHL history threw it to Tomas Hertl in front, and just like that the game was tied with 1.3 seconds left on the clock.
  • This moment was a microcosm of the Rangers season, and summed up their defensive woes to date. It was just the team’s luck that two errors were made consecutively. Had it only been one error, the puck is likely pinned to the boards and the clock runs out with a 3-2 win preserved.
  • But that didn’t happen and both teams went to overtime with one point in hand, and another on the table. Overtime was interesting as it featured both sides taking a penalty, Kevin Labanc at 1:39, and Kreider 3:16 of the extra period.
  • The Rangers’ best chance was a missed two-on-one with Kreider and Zibanejad, and that resulted in a Sharks chance the other way in which Henrik Lundqvist was forced to make a big save. He made 31 on the game.
  • The Blueshirts were unable to generate offense on the power play, which was troubling considering it was a 4-on-3. Kreider’s slashing penalty ended the power play with 24 seconds left, and 1:44 in the period.
  • New York ended the period strong shorthanded with Lundqvist making a superb glove save on a shot from Brent Burns with 0.5 seconds left on the clock./
  • Then came the shootout which saw no score for the Sharks, but Lundqvist was forced to make a few key saves, including Logan Couture and Joe Pavelski./
  • Shattenkirk picked up his second shootout winner of the season, and the Rangers secured the second point./
  • Overall the Rangers slightly lost the possession battle 5v5 (49.07 to 50.93), but made the most of their chance. The team had a 5v5 xGF of 3.11 to the Sharks’ 1.69 and an xGF% of 64.79 per Corsica.
  • Individually, Jimmy Vesey (+14), Jesper Fast (+11), Brett Howden (+8), Brendan Smith and Kevin Shattenkirk (+6) were leaders for the Rangers in shot attempts, and were generating chances. Kudos to Vesey who had one of his better games in recent memory.
  • On the flip side, Vinni Lettier (-12), Filip Chytil (-11), Cody McLeod (-9) and Vladislav Namestnikov (-5) struggled.
  • Tony DeAngelo looked OK with a mixed bag of underlying results. He was a minus-four in shot attempts, but neutral in actual shots for and against with 10 each.
  • He also was on the ice for five high danger chances for, and three against per Natural Stat Trick while tallying 14:37 of ice time 5v5. He finished without a point, but throughout the game you saw elements of what he is capable of. He has four points on four games played, and the Rangers move the puck better with him in the lineup.
  • There’s going to be some turnovers and missed assignments along the way, but you can accept that from an offensive defender when they are making dynamic plays. It will be interesting to see what happens when Adam McQuaid is healthy again.
  • Kreider had a nice bounce back scoring two gaols, after last scoring on October 17th vs. the Capitals.
  • Zuccarello also picked up two points and now has seven in his last seven games, and is tied with Mika Zibanejad for the team lead with 10. As a pending UFA this is great for the Rangers, because they will want to be able to extract as much value as they can.
  • The Rangers are off tonight and will play tomorrow at 10:00 in Anaheim vs. the Ducks./

Stats via Corsica and Natural Stat Trick unless otherwise noted.

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