Recap: Quick’s Shutout Streak Continues in 2-0 Win in Seattle

Kicking off a four game run on the West Coast, the Rangers are on their first extended road trip of the season and got off to a positive start with a 2-0 win over the Seattle Kraken. After getting off to a much better start, the Rangers still struggled at times defensively but picked up a pair of goals to establish a lead which mixed with Jonathan Quick's brilliance, was enough to get the job done.

1st Period:

As the Rangers got reacquainted with one of the league’s newest franchises, the game settled into a strong pace through the first half of the opening period. The Kraken spent an extended shift in the Rangers end of the ice early on but as the game progressed, the Rangers were beginning to tighten up defensively. On the flipside of it, they were getting their chances with their best one coming off a deflected shot from Ryan Lindgren at the point that went through traffic and tickled a post before heading wide. 

For the most part, the Rangers were off to a great start, out-shooting the Kraken 6-2 through the first half of the first. Aside from that one lengthy shift in the offensive zone by Seattle, the Rangers had a good grasp on things and were off to one of their better starts in recent memory. With about six minutes to go in the first, Jonathan Quick faced his first big test of the night as he came up with a big point blank save on Jaden Schwartz. 

With two and a half minutes to go, Ryan Lindgren was called for the first penalty of the night as he was sent off for holding. Despite the disadvantage, the Rangers wasted no time looking to convert shorthanded as Mika Zibanejad pulled off a nice move to find Chris Kreider for the one timer that was gloved by Phillipp Grubauer. This set up for another successful penalty kill from the Rangers who continue to rank atop the league standings in the category, just behind the Nashville Predators. 

That would just about do it for the first as the Rangers were 1-for-1 on the penalty kill through a scoreless period. Shots were 8-6 in favor of the Rangers who out-hit the Kraken by the same count. Despite being credited with more shots, the Kraken had more shot attempts and blew the Rangers away in the high-danger scoring chance count 4-1 with an expected goals for of 0.75-0.44. Certainly a better overall start for the Rangers but there was room for them to generate a little more offensively. 

2nd Period:

In a moment of bad luck, Braden Schneider snapped his stick in half trying to make an outlet pass early in the second which resulted in a great chance from Seattle that Quick was once again able to turn away. As the period went on, the Rangers were beginning to have more trouble keeping the puck out of their own end which kept Quick busy, including a big save on another grade-A chance from Schwartz, this time on a wrap-around. 

Closer to the midway point of the evening, the Rangers were spending more time in Seattle’s end of the ice despite not being credited with a shot on goal. Still, chances were going the other way as Oliver Bjorkstrand ended up on a partial breakaway from a long outlet pass that Quick got a piece of. Finally, just over nine minutes in, the Rangers picked up their first official shot on goal. 

It was becoming a much different story in this middle period as the Kraken were really dominating play, keeping the Rangers pressed in their own end of the ice. One shift in particular left Adam Fox and K’Andre Miller out there for an extended amount of time which is never ideal, especially in the period where you have the long change to deal with. Had it not been for another brilliant effort from Quick, this outing could have looked a lot different up to this point. 

In the final four minutes of the middle period, the Rangers had a good chance on a bouncing puck in Seattle’s crease but a good effort from Yanne Gourde helped keep the floating puck out of harm's way. Following the TV timeout, the Panarin line did a great job of establishing consistent pressure in the offensive zone. An incredible pass from Panarin found Alexis Lafrenière right at the doorstep to tap in one of the easier goals Lafrenière will ever score, 1-0 Rangers. 

Seattle had as good a chance as you can get to tie the game back up with less than 40 seconds to go as Jamie Oleksiak sent Brandan Tanev in all alone with a perfect cross, ice goal line to far blue line pass. An outstanding defensive effort from Miller stripped Tanev of the chance but the Kraken kept pressing right until the final buzzer. Shots after two were now in Seattle’s favor 16-15 with the Rangers leading 1-0. Seattle still had the edge in high-danger chances now 10-4 but Quick was by far the difference maker.

3rd Period:

The Panarin line picked up right where they left off with an impressive shift to start the third period with two quick shots. This helped set the tone as just three minutes in, the Rangers extended their lead on a fantastic play that started and ended with Zac Jones. After picking up the puck in his own end, Jones made some great decisions with the puck on the rush and put himself in a situation to get the pass back from Kaapo Kakko on the pinch. He then caught Grubauer on an awkward angle and sniped a quick shot upstairs to make it a 2-0 game. Just an incredible shift from Zac Jones. 

Not only was the goal impressive in itself, it contributed to this super fun stat as the Rangers have had 18 different goalscorers to start the season which leaves them second in the league in regards to the unique goalscorer count. Fun!

The insurance goal helped set the Rangers up for a stronger two way game to navigate the remainder of the final period. With the two goal lead, the Rangers continued to attack, generating consistent offense in Seattle’s end of the ice while still being mindful of the defensive side of things. With three and half to go in the period, the Kraken pulled Grubauer for the extra attacker which allowed for Seattle to go to work in attempts to climb back into this one. 

Quick continued to be stellar and while they wouldn't capitalize on the empty net, the Rangers held Seattle off to secure the 2-0 win, keeping Jonathan Quick's shutout streak in tact, now through 128 minutes and five seconds.. Truly a remarkable feat for the 38-year old net minder who is off to another great start in his second season with the Rangers.

Final tally for shots on goal would be 24-23 Seattle in a rare night where the Rangers were held without a power play chance with Ryan Lindgren's first period holding penalty the only infraction across the board. The Rangers pick up an important pair of points as they get off to a good start on their road trip that continues with another late night puck drop at 10pm Tuesday Night in Vancouver.