The Rangers extended their win streak to five with a solid 3-1 win over the Maple Leafs. With the win, New York ended Toronto's streak without a regulation loss at 15 (12-0-3) and stopped Mitch Marner's 23-game point streak. Filip Chytil and Jimmy Vesey (2) were the goal scorers. The Blueshirts kick off a three-game road trip in Philly (Saturday) and Chicago (Sunday).
Game recap:
A few thoughts:
1)
Lines and playing time. Vitali Kravtsov and Ben Harpurwere each inserted in the lineup with Sammy Blais and Libor Hajek sitting. For
Kravtsov, it was his first game action since December 5, while it was
Harpur's first game as a Ranger. In full disclosure, when first announced, I was fine with the Kravtsov for Blais swap, just not enamored with that change resulting in Kravtsov taking his spot on the fourth line.
In addition, the question on everyone's mind was why now, what transpired resulting in that change, Vince Mercogliano added some additional intrigue in his column: "even more telling was Wednesday’s practice. Kravtsov remained on the bench for the beginning of five-on-five drills, with the same fourth line that had been used in previous games – Sammy Blais, Jonny Brodzinski and Julien Gauthier – taking the first shift. Those practice arrangements are always a sure-fire sign of what the lineup will look like in the following game, with the logical conclusion being that something happened between Wednesday morning and Thursday’s puck drop."
Did Chris Drury prompt the change with a little talk with coach Gerard Gallant? Was the fane base's ire as seeing Kravtsov rot in the press box a factor? Was Blais' lack of jump since returning from his ACL surgery too hard to finally ignore along with desire not to lose another prospect a driver in the decision? My guess is a little of all of the above played a part.
Panarin-Zibanejad-Goodrow
Lafrenière -Chytil-Kakko
Kreider-Trocheck-Vesey
Kravtsov-Brodzinski-Gauthier
Lindgren-Fox
Miller-Trouba
Harper-Schneider
Shesterkin
Halák
Scratches: Blais, Hájek
Playing time: when you
roll four lines and give additional ice time to those who deserve it, wonderful things can happen. Larry Brooks highlighted both aspects below. One key point to remember is the lack of special teams time compared to other games allowed the balance line approach to be utilized.
The remade line combinations allowed for some balance. The Kids actually had the most ice-time of any unit, clocking 12:45 at five-on-five while the Artemi Panarin-Mika Zibanejad-Barclay Goodrow presumptive first unit was on for 12:10.(my add here: as seen from some of the advanced metrics, that line was not good at all last night nor lately and is crying for another shake up)
The third line consisting of Kreider, Vincent Trochek and Jimmy Vesey was on for 8:52 while the Kravtsov-Jonny Brodzinksi-Julien Gauthier fourth line got 6:24 of five-on-five ice.
This one in which the forwards’ ice time ranged from Brodzinski’s 8:15 to Zibanejad’s 18:40 — and six received between 14:12 and 16:10 — was more like it. Of course, there were only 89 seconds of PP time.
2)
Power play: yes, Virginia, there is a second power play unit. After the first unit failed to score in the first minute or so, Gallant actually went to the second grouping. Kravtsov was inserted for Blais, while Jacob Trouba and the Kid Line made up the five-man unit. New York's first tally of the game was scored by
Filip Chytil - whose next contract demands are rising daily - off brilliant passes down low from Alexis Lafreniere to Kaapo Kakko and then Chytil, who went bar down into the yawning net created by the flurry of dishes.
Let this information from Brooks sink in: Chytil’s score represented the first PPG scored by a forward on the second unit in 131 games, since Kakko got one in Buffalo on April 25, 2021, in the 49th contest of the 56-game season. Chytil's PPG was the fifth of his career and his first since Jan. 2, 2020, when he got one in Calgary. Those numbers stick out like a sore thumb and maybe will mean we could see additional balance - when needed - between the two units.
"Finally. It only took 31 games," Chytil said with a playful smile when asked about PP2 getting an extended look. "But we have an unbelievable first unit, so we have to be ready whenever we get out there. We have to do as much as we can, and today we got a chance to be there almost a minute. It's a difference. You can make some plays. You have more time to do something."
3)
Vesey does it - Vesey has been somewhat of a godsend at 750K. He no longer is expected to score, but has shown the ability to move up and down the lineup as needed and light the lamp occasionally. His first marker yesterday showed that. The play was sparked by K'Andre Miller's long reach, which he used to break up a Toronto pass and possible high-danger chance in the slot. He pushed the puck ahead to Trocheck, who found Vesey on the wing. Vesey carried the puck up ice, dragged the puck a sliding T.J. Brodie, showing patience by not forcing or passing too early, and then beat Matt Murray with a wrist shot right under the crossbar
The third line with Vesey, Chris Kreider and Vincent Trocheck can score but also are responsible defensively. Vesey knows his role and has played quite well since earning a contract off his PTO. His comments post-game reflect that knowledge
"Now I'm conscientious tracking back into our zone and trying to stay above their guys, playing (well) on the penalty kill, blocking shots, stuff like that," he said. "It definitely helps you feel like you're involved in the game and contributing to the team."
4)
Your daily Trouba note - the Rangers' captain was on ice for the one goal against, as seemingly has been the case much of the season. On this one, it's hard to fully blame him but he is not blameless. Trouba's stick got tied up with Michael Bunting, who appeared to grab hold of it and yank it from Trouba's hands, pushing it to the boards. Rather than playing without the stick, when Trouba went to grab it, that left the back-door pass wide open, with Bunting taking advantage to knot the score at 1-1 with 5:54 remaining in the first. He should have remained in the play without a stick and retrieved it if play moved out of the zone. By going to get the twig, Bunting had space to beat Chytil to the crease and score.
Beyond that play, I thought Trouba was fine. He had a few rough moments when on ice in the third against Marner and Auston Mathews, but who hasn't. Every play or move he makes is overly scrutinized, which will be the case until he lands on IR or plays as he did last season.
5)
Defense/Special Teams: The Rangers allowed 13 high-danger scoring chances, according to Natural Stat Trick, but limited the Maple Leafs to only 23 shots on goal. They were charged with only nine giveaways, compared to 29 for Toronto. Igor Shesterkin was solid between the pipes, especially in the third, when he stood tall, stopping all 10 shots in the stanza
"We did a good job defending, breaking pucks out, forcing turnovers and not giving up turnovers in the neutral zone, which have would jump-started their offense," Kreider said. "We've kind of shot ourselves in the foot a lot. Things haven’t been going well, so for us, advancing pucks behind their D, making them go 200 feet and then establishing our forecheck."
New York scored on the man-advantage in the first. More important was the work done while shorthanded. The Rangers stopped all three of the Leafs' power-play opportunities while allowing only four shots on goal and two scoring chances in those situations. They've now gone 11-for-13 on the PK during this five-game winning streak, with zero PP goals allowed in their last three games. That improvement, which came about due to some tweaks made - which were not revealed but mentioned by Braden Schneider in his post-game interview. - has made a vast difference recently.
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