Rangers 6, Stars 2.
Poll’s still open: Click here to vote for the Rangers’ all-time Mount Rushmore.
Click here to read my game story from lohud.com.
Click here for the boxscore with links to the game summary, etc.
Click here for Alain Vigneault’s post-game press conference video.
Thoughts:
1) If you look back at this thing in reverse, since that horrid stretch in which the Rangers allowed 34 goals in six losses, they have taken some steps in the right direction. Small steps. As I said in my game story, you don’t get out of a deep crater in a single leap. You do it by climbing. And it’s been said by coaches forever. You don’t usually come right out of a skid until you play some better games you often lose.
2) The Rangers had the decent win over the Mighty Ducks, despite blowing a late lead then winning in OT. They started out strongly and much better defensively in Nashville, then folded like the fragile group they are/were. They were better against a struggling Tampa team. Pretty good defensively in Florida, though they were bitten by some critical mistakes, and very, very solid against Dallas. One of their best games of a season – a season that once included a nine-game winning streak.
3) So, yeah, maybe they’re climbing out. Maybe. We’ll see when they hit the halfway mark of the season Saturday afternoon against East-leading Washington. Alain Vigneault even said the same thing. “We’ll see against Washington,” he grinned. “Every time you talk about taking steps. If you analyze our process, our process has been getting better. We’re playing better hockey right now. Our execution and battle level are better. … “I’m hoping these are strides in the right direction.” I also thought, because they defended better and executed better, once again the Rangers looked like a fast team. For a while there, their inability to defend and/or make a good pass had them plodding along like the brawling Stu Bickel/Mike Rupp days — minus the system for that type of player.
4) Though It surely was not perfect, this was easily one of their best start-to-finish performances in a long while. The Rangers haven’t won back-to-backs since Nov. 21-23, which was then followed by the 5-11-2.
5) By the way, despite their record, they’ve beaten some of the best from the West, no? Before last night, the top nine teams in the West, in order, were Dallas, Los Angeles, St. Louis, Chicago, Minnesota, Nashville, Arizona, Colorado and Anaheim. The Rangers had beaten all of them but Minnesota, and had yet to play L.A.
6) Speaking of steps, how about the guy who goes by that nickname? Did Derek Stepan gain speed since the broken ribs? He and Rick Nash combined for two short-handed breakaways, and the Rangers’ (hard to believe) first short-handed goal of the season. On the first, Stepan went deke-backhand and was stopped. He said he told himself, during the second breakaway, he was shooting; no way he was deking. He was still stopped, but Stepan has better hockey instincts than most of his teammates and he followed to convert the rebound.
7) Stepan, Nash and callup Jayson Megna combined for the cycle that produced the first goal, Megna getting Nash a second shot which was deflected, and Stepan going to the carom to score his first since Matt Beleskey’s non-penalty.
8) Megna sure has some quickness, also has some real offensive instincts, some hands and … this is not a minor issue … is right-handed. On a left-heavy group of forwards, another skilled righty gives them a better look, especially on the power play. And, yeah, I know the PP didn’t score, and had chances to pad a lead early, when the Stars were getting not a sniff, not a shot, and the Rangers were up 1-0, but I thought it looked better when those guys were on the ice.
9) After one very good early power play shift by Megna, Nash and Stepan, the No. 1 line had a chance. Derick Brassard in the lower left circle, throws it all the way back to Mats Zuccarello at the right point. Why?
10) But Brassard was rewarded for his habit of trying to force a pass every chance he gets, when, after a strong rush by J.T. Miller and a dish to Brassard, his wish-attempt for Zuccarello never made it across the crease, instead going in off a Dallas skate. Another Happy Birthday goal for Brassard. Those two and J.T. Miller were also on for the disallowed Dallas goal. Their defensive-zone play’s been brutal for a while. But I thought their compete level was better Saturday and better still against Dallas.
11) It will be interesting to see what happens with Megna, assuming Chris Kreider is ready Saturday. Guessing that he might stay in the lineup, and somebody else – Jesper Fast, Kevin Hayes, Viktor Stalberg, Tanner Glass? – might come out. I imagine Emerson Etem is going to be sitting for a while. Might even go down if they want to keep Megna up. “He’s going to be here (for practice) tomorrow,” AV said about Megna.
12) And, no, they’re not getting Jonathan Drouin for Megna (sarcasm). The kid also had to answer questions such as, “was this the biggest crowd you’d ever played before?” before politely telling the questioner that he’d played at the Garden when he was with Pittsburgh, for example.
13) Also wondering – even though AV doesn’t usually like to tinker with a winning lineup – if Dylan McIlrath plays against the Capitals. Last time, Tom Wilson was pretty Lady Byng-ish with McIlrath on the ice. Not sure that matters.
14) As for Hayes, AV didn’t actually praise his performance in his first game back from two pruchas. Hayes used his mass for a big (and I mean big) screen on Keith Yandle’s goal, which was enormous in that it came 18 seconds after Henrik Lundqvist coughed up a softie – at a time when the Rangers usually don’t react well. And he seemed more focused defensively. I think it would be a stretch to say he played very well. For example, the Rangers had a 3-on-3 break mid first. Fast set up Oscar Lindberg for a tip in front. Hayes had stopped skating and thus was late as the loose rebound sat just outside the crease. Never got there.
15) So AV challenged what would have been the third Dallas goal, and got it right. He said that Ulf Samuelsson and some of his defensemen seated right at the blue line thought it was offside, and that video coach Jerry Dineen confirmed it. Vigneault risked losing his timeout (relax, I kid) and it turned out the Stars were half a stride offside. At any rate, I felt that the challenge served as a timeout, and the Rangers needed one there, especially if the goal had counted and made it 5-3. So it was a no-lose, and the Rangers won.
16) By the way, those who love to see the Western teams so they can see the stars … Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin were benched the last 12 minutes. How much do I love Lindy Ruff? I’m not in any way saying he’s a better coach than Vigneault, but he’s a terrific coach, and his name was being bandied about before the Rangers hired Vigneault. The thing I like about him is that he does the tough-guy thing without being a lunatic about it (i.e. two previous Rangers coaches). I don’t think there are a lot of coaches who would sit 102 points worth of superstars. My favorite thing about Ruff is he keeps James Patrick in the NHL as an assistant, which is always good.
17) First minute of the game – Marc Staal mishandles a puck inside offensive blue, Dallas nearly gets an odd-man rush; Ryan McDonagh mishandled a puck in the defensive zone under token pressure. But otherwise, I thought the D played a pretty strong game, especially McDonagh.
18) But the start got a lot better when Megna, Stepan and Nash went on the cycle for the first goal.
19) Stepan got absolutely smoked from behind into the crossbar by Jason Demers on the second PP. Play on. The Rangers had two power plays and a lead. So that’s just the “extraordinary” referees (Gary Bettman’s adjective) “managing” the game. My God.
20) The Stars had no shots for nearly the first 12 minutes. Dan Girardi made a couple of the old-Girardi defensive plays. Wait, I’ll check the Corsi on those first … Actually, I read where his Corsi was awful, worst in the game. And yet Seguin and Benn, who had combined for 47 goals and 102 points in 41 games, left town with a big bagel. Each. And got benched. Funny how that happens so often to top stars against the worst defenseman in history. Girardi did have the shot into Seguin’s pads that led to the 2-on-1 and he was bailed out by Lundqvist after McDonagh played Seguin and let the pass go across to Patrick Sharp, and a few other gaffes. With him, too, he’s not going to leap out of the crater.
21) You knew it was coming, right? So on the third Dallas shot, with every Ranger covering a Star, maybe Staal chasing a bit, John Klingberg’s soft wrister fooled Lundqvist and trickled in off his pad. Awful goal. Potentially devastating to a fragile team, right?
22) Not so fast. Eighteen seconds later, Hayes takes away Auntie Em’s eyes and Yandle’s 55-foot spinning wrister sneaks through to regain the lead. That’s the goal the Rangers had been allowing the last 18 games. Now they scored one. Lundqvist kept it 2-1 with that big save, finally, on Sharp from Seguin on the 2-on-1 after Seguin blocked Girardi’s shot. I thought the Yandle goal and that save were both critical moments of the game.
23) And I thought Lundqvist settled in, and played a strong game the rest of the way, with good defense in front of him. He knows he’s got to eliminate some of the goals he’s allowed lately. And he will, because he always does. As I mentioned in the Go Time! Thread, since Nov. 25, Lundqvist was 5-8-1, 3.46, .885 and had allowed four or more goals in seven of his 15 games. That math courtesy of @RothmanHockey … because if I did it, it would be wrong.
24) Daily Nash-O-Meter: One of his more energetic games in a while. Made the second-effort play from his knees for the first Stepan short-handed breakaway. Drew a penalty. Assist on the first goal. Steal and pass for the shorty. Assist on the give-and-go for the Megna goal. He’s 4-9-13 in the last 14 games. Yeah, I know, those don’t count.
25) “I think we’ve been trying to focus on defense, defense-first,” Nash said. “That’s when we’ve had our success in past years. And I feel like each game we’re getting better. We’re coming back in our own zone, we’re stopping, we’re not circling. It’s a huge key, especially against offensive teams like them.” … and about the ferocity level and speed and being on pucks and competing, he said, “I think in here we’ve got to understand the urgency of the time of season it is, look at the standings and, you know, you lose a few more games here and you’re outside looking in.”
26) Staal continued to struggle making passes, and with some of his defensive coverage. It was his man on the first Dallas goal, though that shot has to be stopped. He allowed Benn to tip Klingberg’s power-play shot in the second, then decked Benn a moment after he had a second chance off the post.
27) Has Rangers GM Jeff Gorton kicked the tires on Tampa’s Drouin? Of course he has. Is Drouin, now in the minors and trying to figure it out as most 20-year-olds need time to do, the answer to the Rangers’ need for another top-six skill forward? Maybe. Maybe not at this time. Do the Rangers have what it will take to get a deal done (if Tampa Bay GM Steve Yzerman would even deal him within the conference)? That’s hard to imagine. Yandle, a rental at best, won’t get it done. The Bolts reportedly want a right-handed defenseman (Yandle’s a left) plus prospects and/or draft picks because they’re up against the salary cap. They might want to shed extra defenseman’s Matt Carle, whose $5.5 million cap hit would be virtually impossible for the Rangers to absorb. The Rangers would likely have to give up a player who will help Tampa now, and much more, including a first-round pick (where have we heard that before?).
28) Vancouver GM Jim Benning, who inquired, reportedly told TSN in Canada that the asking price for Drouin is “really high” adding that he didn’t think the Canucks have the prospects it would take to get a deal done. Drouin’s cap hit of less than $900,000 makes him a great get, and therefore will drive up his price as much as will his potential. The Lightning, though, really don’t have to “settle” – there is no need for them to trade him at the moment, despite the demands of his agent – who is also the agent who got involved in Brassard’s spat with Scott Arniel in Columbus.
*************************************
My Three Rangers Stars:
1. Rick Nash.
2. Derek Stepan.
3. Jayson Megna.
*************************************
Kenny Albert’s Three Rangers Stars:
1. Derek Stepan.
2. Rick Nash.
3. Jayson Megna.
*************************************
Your poll vote for Three Rangers Stars:
1. Rick Nash.
2. Derek Stepan.
3. Jayson Megna.
*************************************
Photos by Getty Images.
Click here to go to @RangersReport on Twitter.
The post Rangers-Stars in review appeared first on Rangers Report.