Panarin, Vesey Pair Up In Win Over Devils
After a long week with no games, the Rangers were back at it for a very highly anticipated outing with one of their biggest rivals. Chapter 1 of this season’s Battle of the Hudson as the New York Rangers took on the New Jersey Devils for the first time since last postseason. With both team’s dealing with injuries and still missing key players, some good news came for either side as the Devils got Jack Hughes back and the Rangers Igor Shesterkin.
First Period:
The Rangers wasted no time getting back on track as they had some solid chances through the first couple of minutes. If you didn’t know any better, you wouldn’t think this team hadn’t played in a week after establishing the pace they did early on. Very few stoppages of play through the first seven minutes of the game but after tripping up Tyler Pitlick, Alexander Holtz headed to the penalty box which sent the Rangers on their first power play of the night.
After a pair of clearing attempts from the Devils, the Rangers were finally able to get set up and after a couple of good chances, Vincent Trocheck fed Artemiy Panarin with a perfect pass for him to send the puck into the wide open side of the net, giving the Rangers a 1-0 lead. Not only does Panarin extend his point streak to 15 games, he now passes Rod Gilbert for the longest point streak to start a season in franchise history.
What an incredible start to the year for Panarin and you have to love to see him extend the streak and break the franchise record against the Devils after struggling so much in the Rangers’ series against them last postseason.
Shortly after the Rangers took the lead, there was a bit of a weird play where it appeared that Igor Shesterkin made the save and the refs blew the whistle. However, the puck seemed to sneak through the Rangers netminder and just after the whistle blew, it had crossed the line. Another classic example of the theory that nobody actually seems to know the rules of hockey. The sensible idea would be that because the refs blew the whistle before the puck went it, it wouldn’t be a goal. However, the refs decided that because it was a continuous play as the whistle blew, it was ruled a good goal.
This decision is extra frustrating for Rangers fans, considering a very similar situation occurred against Columbus last week that also resulted not in their favor. However in that circumstance, it was a goal for the Rangers that was eventually called off despite the puck seemingly crossing the goal line before the whistle was even blown, claiming Cuylle’s original shot did not go in. Frustrations aside, play continued.
With about six minutes to go in the first, Tomas Nosek got caught with his head down and that is never a good situation to put yourself in when Jacob Trouba is on the ice. Trouba laid a huge hit on Nosek which left him needing assistance to get off the ice. At least this time, Trouba didn’t have to fight after a clean hit but a small scrum ensued involving Will Cuylle and former friend Brendan Smith at the other end of the ice.
That very next shift, Jimmy Vesey put away a rebound following a beautiful passing play from that fourth line. Schneider to Pitlick to Jones, back to Schneider for the shot and the rebound left for Vesey to score against one of his former teams, giving his first and current team a 2-1 lead.
The Rangers nearly made it 3-1 right after as Chris Kreider was set up perfectly in front of the net but Devils defenseman John Marino got a piece of it with his stick, deflecting it into the corner. As the period dwindled down, Vincent Trocheck was called for cross-checking Jack Hughes to give the Devils their first man advantage of the night. What started as a strong kill for the Rangers resulted in a goal for the Devils as Ondrej Palat let a shot go through a partial screen that again deflected off Shesterkin into the back of the net.
At the end of the games first twenty, the score was tied at two as shots on goal were also knotted up at 10 apiece. Both teams converted on their lone power play opportunities with the Devils having the slight advantage in face-offs.
2nd Period:
The Trouba Train kept on rolling along to start the second period as he laid a big hit on Michael McLeod. It would certainly be a physical period as both teams continued to play with quite an edge in that regard. The Rangers had a fantastic opportunity to regain the lead following a 3-on-1 from that top line of Panarin, Trocheck and Lafrenière. Trocheck and Panarin set up Lafrenière perfectly, however they just ran out of space which resulted in him not being able to get shot off.
About halfway through the game, Ryan Lindgren took a hard hit up high from McLeod which left him shaken up a bit. After calling the initial penalty, the refs gathered and determined that it was a penalty worth a five minute major and a game misconduct. Naturally, Lindy Ruff and the Devils disagreed with the call and challenged it which apparently changed the officials mind as it was deemed no penalty at all… Truly baffling. Had things not settled down, this game easily could have gotten out of hand with how the calls were being made but as play continued, the physical side of the game shifted to more of an offensive minded one.
It was much more of a goalie period throughout the second. Shesterkin looked rather sharp after a bit of a shaky first period which included a couple big saves against Jack Hughes. Vitek Vanecek also came up with some timely saves at the other end of the ice, including a patient effort on a chance for Panarin who was left all alone with time and space in the slot. With just over two minutes to go in the second, the Rangers headed back to the power play as Dawson Mercer got his stick caught up under Artemiy Panarin.
The Devils held the Rangers power play off which kept the score tied at two going into the second intermission. Shots on goal were still very close with New Jersey out-shooting the Rangers 23-22. The Rangers had quite a few high danger scoring chances but between Vanacek playing a solid game and them not finding much puck luck, they wouldn’t capitalize.
3rd Period:
Tough start for the Rangers in the third as Erik Haula put a backhander top shelf after the puck managed to sneak through traffic, across the crease to Haula who was wide open and all alone.
The Devils now had a 3-2 lead early on in the games final period which put the Rangers behind for the first time in this game. Toffoli nearly made it 4-2 as he found himself all alone in the slot but Shesterkin was able to come up with a big save. The longer the Blueshirts were trailing and the quicker time seemed to go by, the need for the Rangers to get something from their top line, specifically Mika Zibanejad only increased. He would come within just a couple of inches from tying the game up as he rang a shot off the crossbar and out of play.
The Rangers would get one last chance on the power play as a too-many men penalty was called against the Devils. Zibanejad had another chance in the slot but a rolling puck would hinder his ability to get as much as he would have liked to on it. Time would eventually expire as the Rangers weren’t able to capitalize and shortly after, Jesper Bratt took the puck away at the blue line and quickly found himself on a breakaway. This would prove to be the save of the game as Shesterkin came up clutch in shutting him down and keeping the puck out of the net.
As play continued, the Rangers were doing a good job of maintaining possession and getting some quality chances. With nine minutes to go in the game, Vincent Trocheck tied up Haula on an offensive zone face-off. Artemiy Panarin was able to locate the puck and let a quick shot go that surprised Vanecek and tied the game up at three for Panarin’s second of the night, tenth of the season.
This was easily the best game of the season from the Rangers fourth line and by far the most noticeable they have been. Just as they were coming on for what ended up being their last shift of the night, Jimmy Vesey went hard to the net after a nice give and go with Tyler Pitlick. Pitlick’s shot set Vesey up perfectly for yet another rebound, as he was able to put the puck away to make it a 4-3 game.
The Devils would pull Vanecek for the extra attacker and soon after, Blake Wheeler would put home the empty netter with about a minute and a half left from the Rangers blueline, making it 5-3. Still with a minute left, the Devils pulled the goalie again and Igor Shesterkin empty net goal watch was in full swing. Nevertheless, the score held at 5-3 and the Rangers pulled off yet another win without skipping a beat after a week long break.
What a win for this Rangers team that just continues to find ways to win despite anything that comes their way. Through their last eleven games, the Rangers are now 10-0-1 as they advance to 12-2-1 on the season. A pair of two goal nights from both Jimmy Vesey and Artemiy Panarin as well as a three point night from Vincent Trocheck who has been red hot since stepping in for Filip Chytil on that second line. Final tally on shots on goal for the night were 35-33 in favor of the Rangers with them winning 53% of face-offs, blocking 18 shots and going 1-for-3 on the power play.
The Rangers have a busy holiday week ahead as they kick it off with a trip to Dallas for some Monday Night hockey before a rival filled long weekend with the Penguins, Flyers and Bruins.
