Just when you think the Rangers are cooked, they pull a rabbit out of the hat and perform a regulation win sized miracle on road ice. The final game before the 4 Nations break, and what was looking bleak, turned into a gutsy win thanks to the timely scoring in the third period by Will Cuylle. The process was barely there, as backchecking was a major problem, but sometimes you just need the two points.
The game winner was changed to Urho Vaakanainen, but no quit in Will Cuylle still stands. No quit in Urho Cuylle? No quit in Will Vaakanainen?
Igor injury? No problem
With Igor Shesterkin out, Jonathan Quick got the call in net with AHL All Star Dylan Garand serving as his backup. Garand is putting up solid raw statistics on a bad Hartford Wolf Pack team, which should bode well for his potential future. Quick though did just fine, stopping 22 of 25, and made some enormous saves throughout the game that were leaving Sam and Joe speechless. There is a decent argument to be made that the Rangers shouldn’t rush Igor back if he’s not ready by the time the season resumes in two weeks.
The last thing the Rangers need if they do indeed make the playoffs is for Shesterkin to be at 80-85% effectiveness. He has been letting in some rather non-Igor like goals the last few games that really can’t be put on the defensive issues. It hasn’t been an Igor-like season, and the break should help, but with Quick in net and a solid backup option available, there’s no need to rush him back.
Some forwards still looked good
Mika Zibanejad deserves his flowers for how effective he has been playing since the acquisition of JT Miller. The Panarin-Miller-Zibanejad trio was broken up for better center depth, which in turn created a need at RW that Jimmy Vesey couldn’t fill. Vesey is a solid hockey player, he’s turned his career around and maybe he truly has a little more in the tank to give, but that’s going to be as a bottom six player, not a top six. Someone like Arthur Kaliyev, who has a far higher offensive ceiling, should be given a shot there.
Speaking of Kaliyev, why was this guy a healthy scratch at all? The first shot in the game was a great wraparound goal by Kaliyev. He beat his man to the puck, feigned a short side shot, freezing the goalie, and tucked in the wrap around. He should be in the lineup every night, if anything just to see what the Rangers have in him. Reilly Smith had no business being on the fourth line, but that was hopefully a one-off message.
Just when we gave up hope, they reeled us back in. Was it enough? Are they good enough to make a run? Or is this all just a blip for a first round exit, if they make it?
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