The Rangers got off to a slow start but rebounded in the second and held on for dear life in the third in defeating the Lightning 3-1. Jimmy Vesey netted two, including an empty-netter, while Jonny Brodzinski tallied New York's other goal. Jonathan Quick was solid in making 18 saves; he wasn't tested often but was there when needed. The Blueshirts face the Blackhawks in Chicago on Friday.
A few thoughts:
1) Quick - the big story coming into the game was the fact that Quick - and not Igor Shesterkin - was between the pipes. Quick showed that coach Peter Laviolette's choice was not the wrong one. He was solid overall, making a few key saves in the first period to keep the game scoreless. Quick was not called upon to make many difficult saves, but he was good enough when needed.
The plan was for Shesterkin to sit the first two games after the break and then start. Scrap it. Quick is playing too well, as is the team in front of him, to make a change. Ride the hot hand. Sell it that you don't want to mess with a good thing and hot streak to keep Quick between the pipes.
2) Bottom-six scoring - all three goals were scored by the bottom-six. The top-six were not that noticeable. Mika Zibanejad was mainly seen defensively with his offensive forays coming when Artemi Panarin was moved up to his line. I didn't think Vincent Trocheck did much offensively, so when your top-two centers are not that memorable, it's unlikely you will score a lot.
Vesey and Brodzinski stepped up. Vesey had a beautiful backhand up top for the first goal of the game, one Andrei Vasilevskiy likely wanted back. Brodzinski's goal came after some good work on the board and a great pass by Chris Kreider following strong board work by Blake Wheeler. But Brodzinski released the puck quickly, finding a hole in Vasi.
3) Defense - New York got off to a slow start in the first with Tampa carrying play. They tightened up defensively in the second as the All-Star break seemed to catch up with the Lightning. But they found their legs in the third, pinning the Rangers deep. The Blueshirts kept backing in, giving Tampa room to create, leading to Brandon Hagel's goal. New York was able to thwart a late Tampa PP, thanks to some great work by Ryan Lindgren, and hold on for the win.
4) The win was marred by a brutal injury to Mikhail Sergachev. Playing for the first time after missing 17 games, Sergachev got his left leg caught underneath him on a clean, reverse check by Alexis Lafreniere, forcing him from the game with the injury. Hopefully it's not as bad as it looked.
New York Rangers Blogger • 
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