The New York Rangers started the week squaring off against the undefeated Florida Panthers. They showed that no team is undefeatable as they took down the only team left with a zero in the loss column. It was a lesson on what not to do during the third period. However, the Rangers survived.
Then it was off to face the Columbus Blue Jackets. They were able to hold off the BlueJackets. However, Igor Shesterkin left the ice in the third period due to a collision with a Columbus player. After the game, the news was good. Shesterkin had to go through the concussion protocol and would be fine.
Taking on the New Jersey Devils was more of a task than it has been in the past. This season, the Devils are a better team and came into the game 7-4-2. Not only did the Rangers outshoot the Devils 41 to 27, but both teams put on a nail-biter of a shootout. However, in the end, there can be only one, and this time it was the Rangers.
It was a fabulous three-game winning streak. Hopefully, we’ll see it continue with the next game against the Montreal Canadiens.
New York Rangers vs. Florida Panthers
November 08, 2021
Madison Square Garden
W 4-3
1st Period
07:52-Chris Kreider, Mika Zibanejad & Artemi Panarin
19:54-Adam Fox, Barclay Goodrow & Mika Zibanejad
2nd Period
12:48-K’Andre Miller & Kreider
13:18-Ryan Strome, Panarin, Jacob Trouba
3rd Period
00:20-Eetu Luostarinen, Patric Hornqvist & Mason Marchment
18:34-Sam Reinhart, Owen Tippett & Radko Gudas
19:20-Maxim Mamin, Hornqvist & Aleksander Barkov
The offense for New York was coming together and working their magic on the Panthers. It was great seeing more points accumulate for players, but seeing the play of Miller on his goal was a thing of beauty. He came out of the neutral zone with the puck and never looked back. Despite falling, he managed to knock it into the net.
The Rangers had control of the game until the third period. Then, it was all Panthers, it seemed, and it came down to the very end. It was a nail-biter for sure after the last Florida goal with 40 seconds left in the game. But, the Rangers held on and handed the Panthers their first loss of the season.
Fans can thank Shesterkin for making 42 saves.
New York Rangers @ Columbus Blue Jackets
November 13, 2021
Nationwide Arena
W 5-3
1st Period
08:59-Jakub Voracek, Oliver Bjorkstrand & Cole Sillinger
17:29-Panarin, Fox & Strome
2nd Period
06:56-Eric Robinson, Jake Bean & Zach Werenski
07:39-Kreider & Trouba
08:15-Panarin & Strome
08:42-Trouba, Goodrow, Julien Gauthier
3rd Period
00:52-Kreider, Zibanejad & Fox
13:15-Alexandre Texier, Vladislav Gavrikov & Gavin Bayreuther
This game gave us a bevy of goals. While the Rangers did not start out too great, getting three goals in a short span in the second helped immensely. There was a scary moment when Texier hits Shesterkin as he made his goal in the third period. Texier was pushed into the goalie by Patrik Nemeth. Texier’s knee hit Shesterkin in the head and was taken out of the game, and Alexandar Georgiev came in to finish.
After the game, it was good to learn that Shesterkin would be okay and available for the game against the Devils if needed.
New York Rangers vs. New Jersey Devils
November 14, 2021
Madison Square Garden
W 4-3
1st Period
15:23-Jesper Bratt, Dawson Mercer & P.K. Subban
2nd Period
03:11-Fox
11:24-Alexis Lafreniere, Trouba,& Kaapo Kakko
13:20-Dougie Hamilton, Bratt & Pavel Zacha
3rd Period
06:29-Kakko & Strome
17:16-Zacha, Nico Hischier & Tomas Tatar
OT
No Scoring
Shootout
Round 1
Damon Severson-No Goal
Zibanejad-No Goal
Round 2
Bratt-Goal
Kakko-Goal
Round 3
Hamilton-Goal
Panarin-Goal
Round 4
Mercer-No Goal
Lafreniere-No Goal
Round 5
Andreas Johnsson-Goal
Strome-Goal
Round 6
Tatar-No Goal
Rooney-No Goal
Round 7
Zacha-No Goal
Kreider-Goal
This was more of a nail-biter than the game against the Panthers. The Rangers were doing fairly decent against a much improved Devils team. In the third period, Sammy Blais and Subban both went after a puck, and it appeared Subban possibly stuck out his skate. This caused Blais to crash into the boards and left him in pain. He was assisted off the ice and would not return to the game.
The Rangers outshot the Devils in overtime 5-1, and then it went to a shootout. It took seven rounds before Kreider was able to get the winning shot for the Rangers to extend their winning streak to three.
What We Learned This Week
This week, one main takeaway, especially from the New Jersey game, is that Subban is still a jerk, and it’s too soon to call Kakko and Lafreniere a bust. However, we also learned that being 9-3-3 is not as bad as fans think it is. It may not be where they wanted the Rangers to be after Gallant took over as coach, but it’s a better place than they were last season and the season before that.
The Rangers need to learn how to protect those third-period leads by playing to win and stop with the playing not to lose.
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Main Image Credit: Embed from Getty Images
