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Rangers dominate Wild 7-3 on Thursday, face Jets tonight |
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The Rangers had a dominant effort in their 7-3 win over the Wild. Ten players hit the scoresheet with Igor Shesterkin making 33 saves, including several early in the game and then when Minnesota made a push, especially in a 5-on-3 penalty kill in the third. New York is in Winnipeg tonight with Jaroslav Halak expected to be between the pipes.
Game recap:
Lineup:
Kreider - Zib - Kakko
Panarin - Trocheck - Laf
Vesey - Chytil - Goodrow
Hunt - Carpenter - Reaves
Miller-Trouba
Lindgren-Fox
Jones-Schneider
Shesterkin
Halak
A few thoughts:
1) Balanced scoring - Artemi Panarin had a goal and three assists, Chris Kreider scored twice, Adam Fox and Vincent Trocheck each had a goal and an assist, and Alexis Lafreniere and Mika Zibanejad each had two assists for the Rangers. Add in Kaako Kappo with a beautiful goal, see below, and Filip Chytil using his improved strength down low to score on a rebound, and almost a perfect night.
2) Kakko moved up to the top line to start the season and has fit in almost seamlessly to the big boys. Yesterday's goal showed patience, strength, skill, and more important, confidence, with the tally a mirror image of the Traverse City marker he scored. Kakko on that play looked like the skater we saw in Europe and why he was the second overall pick.
Signed to a two-year, $4.2 million deal this offseason, Kakko could end up a bargain if the play we saw the last two games continues. Consistency has been an issue, resulting in him being a healthy scratch for Game 6 of the ECF. Kakko took that slight and used it as motivation, seen in his play to date. If he can fill that top-six right wing role, that lengthens the team's lineup tremendously.
3) Lafreniere - the other member of the young gun winger crew, Lafreniere has more than ably handled his switch from left to right wing. His two primary assists yesterday indicate that the transition appears to have not affected him greatly. Laf has not looked out of place, nor has he struggled defensively, which is one of the main changes with the switch. He is creating opportunities and playing with tremendous confidence, If he can remain with Artemi Panarin and Vincent Trocheck, then I would put Vitali Kravtsov on the third line with Chytil when he returns.
4) Shesterkin was big early when Minnesota came out strong in front of the home crowd. New York was outshot 15-8 with six of those chances termed high-danger. While the contest was never really in doubt, when needed on the two-man shorthanded situation, The Rangers led at the time 3-1, but in a stretch of two minutes and 38 seconds. New York was forced to kill two overlapping penalties. That included 1:22 of time spent playing five-against-three with Igor making key saves to keep the score the same and prevent the Wild from getting any momentum or narrowing the gap. Halak will/should start tonight against the Jets.
As a reminder, I am out of pocket Sunday through Tuesday night for the final Jewish holiday of the season.
New York Rangers Blogger • 
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