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Rangers vs Red Wings: Rangers Destroy Detroit For Second Straight Shutout Victory

The New York Rangers picked up their second consecutive shutout victory this afternoon after they blew the doors off of the Detroit Red Wings. The Rangers only scored four goals throughout the game, but it certainly could have been much more with how well they played at both ends of the ice. Igor Shesterkin didn’t face a whole lot of action, but was still solid nonetheless to pick up the shutout.

1st Period

Mika Zibanejad (28) - Artemiy Panarin (68) & Chris Kreider (22) PPG - 13:44

A few minutes past the halfway mark of the first period, the Rangers had a big opportunity as Detroit was whistled down for two separate penalties. That resulted in a huge 5-on-3 man-advantage for the Rangers, and it took them just 32 seconds to find an answer. After zipping the puck around the outside, the Rangers finally found a shooting lane with Artemiy Panarin setting up Mika Zibanejad. Zibanejad immediately stepped into a heavy one-timer from his patented spot, and wired a slap shot over the blocker side of Thomas Greiss.

2nd Period

Frank Vatrano (17) - Mika Zibanejad (49) & Adam Fox (58) - 3:46

The Rangers carried over their dominating play into the second period, and they quickly doubled up their lead at the 3:46 mark. Frank Vatrano created the initial rush chance by absolutely boding Lucas Raymond along the side boards and separated him from the puck. Mika Zibanejad was able to dig out the loose puck, step over the blue line, and laid a soft centering feed into the middle of the ice.

Frank Vatrano skated onto the puck, looked up at the net and picked his spot over the shoulder of Thomas Greiss. Things appeared as if they were going to get a little chippy after Dylan Larkin stepped into Vatrano after the goal with a very late hit. Vatrano got up looking to go back at Larkin, but Chris Kreider stepped in the middle and both skated their separate ways.

3rd Period

Alexis Lafrenière (16) - Barclay Goodrow (16) & Filip Chytil (14) - 4:37

After being a healthy scratch in the previous game, Alexis Lafrenière certainly came back with some vengeance against the Red Wings. Early in the third period, an innocent looking flip play by Adam Fox wound up turning into a serious chance, and Lafrenière picked up his 16th goal of the season. Filip Chytil and Barclay Goodrow both did a great job of winning battles in the neutral zone, which ultimately created the 2-on-1 chance. Lafrenière also did a great job of selling the pass and quickly firing the puck past Greiss with a perfectly placed wrist shot.

Alexis Lafrenière (17) - Patrik Nemeth (4) & Barclay Goodrow (17) - 14:17

Alexis Lafrenière wasn’t about to stop at just a single goal, and he went full takeover mode on the Red Wings after picking up his first goal. There’s really nothing to say other than that we wish Dylan Larkin all the best, and hopefully he is able to recover from this horrific moment in his career. Filip Chytil didn’t pick up an assist on the goal, but it is worth noting that he made an incredible heady play to skate into Filip Hronek and essentially force the 1-on-1 opportunity.

The Rangers picked up their fifth win in the previous six games, and are once again tied for first place in the Metropolitan Division with the Carolina Hurricanes. Obviously the one concerning aspect of the game was Kaapo Kakko leaving the game with another injury after falling awkwardly along the boards. Hopefully it’s nothing serious and the Rangers were just playing it safe since he just returned from a significant injury just a few games ago.

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