Recap: Panarin Hat-Trick, Mancini’s First, Leads to New York Win #4

Kicking off a three game road trip, the Rangers were right back at it with the Detroit Red Wings after picking up a 4-1 win against them at home just a few days earlier. This would be the first outing of the season for Jonathan Quick as he went up against former Rangers netminder Cam Talbot at the other end of the ice. It would be a tough outing for one of the two as the Rangers played another great game to take care of business with the Red Wings for the second time this week. Let’s break it down. 

1st Period:

After a spirited start, the Rangers were sent to the penalty kill about four minutes in as Vincent Trocheck clipped Dylan Larkin away from the play. Just over a minute into the initial call, the Rangers extended their disadvantage as Adam Fox was sent off for slashing. Back to back penalties called against Larkin. 

Alex DeBrincat had as good a chance as you could possibly get to put his team on the board but missed a wide open net on the left side. This was only the beginning as the Red Wings swarmed Quick who wasted no time coming up clutch against all seven of Detroit shots through just as many minutes.

As the play went the other way, a great effort from the Lafrenière line found Artemiy Panarin all alone on his side of the ice where he let a laser of a wrister go to beat Talbot up high, making it a 1-0 game midway through the first. 

Filip Chytil had a great chance to extend the lead a couple of minutes later on a partial breakaway but missed the backhand shot just wide of the net. Perfect pass from Kakko to set him up for the scoring chance. 

With about four and a half to go in the period, Alexis Lafrenière was tripped up at the blue line to give the Rangers their first power play of the evening. It would only take ten seconds for the Rangers to find the back of the net and once again, it was Artemiy Panarin letting an incredible shot go to beat Talbot upstairs, further cementing his name in Rangers history in the process, 2-0. 

The Red Wings had another golden opportunity to put themselves on the board as Moritz Seider made a great play to find a man in front of the net but couldn’t get enough on it to beat Quick. The veteran backup had a stellar start to his season in the initial twenty here, stopping all 12 of Detroit's shots. The Rangers may have only registered 9 of their own shots but went 1-for-1 on the power play (in just ten seconds time), 11-for-20 in face-offs and out-blocked the Red Wings who out chanced them quite significantly. 

2nd Period:

With how many chances the Red Wings were getting it was only a matter of time before one of them found its way into the Rangers net. A great pass from J.T. Compher found Seider high in the slot to rip a shot through some traffic that hit nothing but net to cut the Rangers lead in half, 2-1. 

Nearing the midway point of the second, the Rangers maintained some strong possession on a delayed penalty call that eventually sent Jonatan Berggren off for holding. They would continue to find success on the power play as they set up perfectly, executing on a tip in front to make it a 3-1 game. It wouldn’t be Kreider this time around but Vincent Trocheck as he redirected the set up shot from Panarin. 

The Rangers would head right back to the power play about a minute later as Erik Gustafsson got the stick up high on Jonny Brodzinski. I mentioned in my morning article that Mika Zibanejad hasn’t been effective in his usual spot on the power play, suggesting he should start moving his feet and getting more creative. Sure enough, Zibanejad’s absence in that spot created an opportunity for Panarin to creep in there where he immediately ripped a one timer to find the back of the net, completing his hat-trick for the night. 

Less than a minute later, it would be an unforgettable moment for Michigan-Native Victor Mancini who picked up the first goal of his NHL career in his homecoming game. What a story the young defender has been in the early parts of this season. You start to wonder, how do you send this kid down?  

This would put an end to former friend Cam Talbot’s night as the Red Wings sent Alex Lyon out there to try and wake their team up. With six minutes to go, the Rangers were going to head back to the penalty kill as Kaapo Kakko was called for holding but Christian Fischer got the stick up high on Zac Jones to bring play to 4-on-4. Despite the extra space on the ice, neither team would generate much as the period began to wind down. 

Shots at the end of two were now 23-18 in favor of New York who was in great position to put this thing to bed in the final period of regulation. 

3rd Period:

Frustrations boiled a bit for Detroit as Ben Chariot went after Sam Carrick who chopped at Lyon for a rebound after a nice shift from the fourth line. Coincidental minors brought the game back to 4-on-4 which led to the highlight of the night that didn’t amount to anything. Zac Jones almost went for the Michigan goal as he took a rolling puck in behind Detroit’s net. At any rate, it’s great to see him and Mancini getting ice time in that kind of situation.  

Kaapo Kakko took his second penalty of the night as he was called for tripping DeBrincat. Another successful kill from the Rangers fought off the third Detroit man advantage of the night, bringing this one to the midway mark of the third. 

Despite the well-established lead, the Rangers continued to run the show offensively. Another really strong shift from that third line of Chytil-Cuylle-Kakko resulted in some quality scoring chances but no goals. With close to five minutes to go, Erik Gustafsson took another trip to the penalty box for high sticking. The coaching staff took this as an opportunity to get the second power play unit some ice time which was a great through. 

Of course that would come to an abrupt end as Kakko was awarded his third penalty of the night for goaltender interference. This brought the teams to 4-on-4 play for the third time tonight but as it turned into a Detroit man advantage, J.T. Compher finished on a point blank scoring chance to make it 5-2. 

Despite the late goal, the Rangers held on strong and will cross the border with another pair of points, extending their record to 4-0-1 to start the season. A memorable night with Mancini’s first NHL goal as well as the Panarin hat-trick and a big first win from Jonathan Quick. The Rangers are back at it for Hockey Night In Canada Saturday Night as they’ll pay a visit to Auston Matthews and the Toronto Maple Leafs.