After falling to the Jets in Winnipeg, the Rangers were back home at the Garden looking to take care of business. I think we were all interested to see how they would bounce back from a loss in which they looked tired and complacent, and on Monday night we got our answer.
- Don’t look now but through 4 games the Rangers collectively have a positive faceoff percentage of 53.2% – compared to last years 48.1%. Faceoffs mean possession and it’s nice possessing the puck off the rip more than the other team. Trocheck went 14-7 last night at the dot. Upgrade much?
- Ryan Strome and Frank Vatrano returned to the Garden last night and got a nice ovation from the fans which was well deserved. Ryan Strome was a great teammate and New York Ranger. He got a ton of shit from Rangers fans for missing what seemed to be a thousand empty nets but without Strome last year the Rangers wouldn’t have been able to do nearly as much. He was almost a PPG player with Panarin, stuck up for his teammates when needed and always held himself accountable.
- Frankie V added a spark to our top six come playoff time and was always safety off whenever he got the puck. He actually scored twice, didn’t you know?
- Sam Rosen continues to be a New York Rangers icon.
- Do you remember all of those years in which it felt like the Rangers should just decline any Power Play rewarded to them? Then we’d have to watch a group of 5 players throw pucks around the rink with no plan and no structure at all? Look how far we’ve come. They went 3-4 last night and is 33% on the year. This Power Play is deadly.
- Zibanejad [2-2-4] and Panarin [1-3-4] continued to stay hot. Historically, it normally takes Zibanejad a bit to get going – well, not this year. Through 4 games, Mika has 8 points and is on pace 164. This won’t happen but it’s nice to see the Rangers number one center flying to start the campaign. That one timer turns me on.
- That number 10 is pretty good too.
- I’m telling you this right now – the NHL is in a lot of trouble if Kakko and Lafreniere start producing like the top 6 forwards they were drafted to be. It always feels great when the big dogs are doing their thing but when your home grown kids decided to chip in? *chefs kiss*
- Where do you score goals? Thats right, right around the front of the net. LOVE to see it.
- Sammy Blais changes the entire make up of this team. On nights the Rangers will be flat, 91 will continue to chip pucks in and make the other teams defenseman pay. Lundqvist mentioned on the broadcast that Anaheims defense wanted nothing to do with getting hit and thats because of players like Blais and Reaves. Unfortunately there isn’t a stat for how much you don’t want to get hit so we will continue to hear that the fourth line should be comprised of players who can put pucks between their legs in practice instead of players who change the dynamic on the ice. That’s what you get for listening to a bunch of nerds with a background of being picked second to last in floor hockey in the 11th grade.
- Did you all see the Carpenter picture? I had no idea the play in last game was that bad. Get well soon buddy, we need ya back.
- In my opinion, the most important thing about this game was this:
- The boys know they didn’t defend hard enough and know that will come back to bite them when games truly matter. The fact that they’ve recognized this and it’s only game 4 makes me think that this team might be very special.
The Morning Skate 