The Rangers closed February as they started the month with a win. New York extracted some revenge for their defeat by the Blue Jackets on Sunday, notching a. 4-1 win. The Blueshirts are off until Saturday when they start a stretch of six straight contests against teams with winning records versus the Maple Leafs.
A few thoughts:
1) Overall record: following a 5-7-2 January where rightful concerns were raised about the make up of the team, New York flipped the switch in February. The Rangers went 10-1 in the month, outscoring their opponents by a 40-22 margin. Yesterday’s win made it an even 40 victories through 60 games played, tying the 1972-73 team for fastest to that mark in franchise history. In addition, the victory also moved the Blueshirts back into sole possession of the Eastern Conference's No. 1 seed, one point ahead of the Bruins and Panthers, thought Florida has a game in hand. All this is great heading into March, but will mean little once the playoffs start, save for seeding.
2) Artemi Panarin drive the bus again. His first goal of the game came following a little scramble after Vincent Trocheck quasi-won a draw. Panarin engaged after the face off and benefitted from the puck hitting the linesman skate. His shot likely should have been stopped by Elvis Merzlikins - who was excellent during the game - but the puck tipped off his stick through his five-hole. The tally made Panarin the third player in franchise history to post four 80-point seasons, joining Mark Messier (five) and Rod Gilbert (four), austere company.
Later, an unselfish play by Panarin set up Chris Kreider for the clinching goal into an empty net and his 30th of the season. Seconds later, Panarin netted his own goal, putting the puck in the empty net from the defensive blue line. With the pair of goals and assist, Panarin is now up to 35 markers and 47 helpers; his 82 points sit fifth in the league. Panarin has raised his game and deserves some Hart Trophy consideration, even though he won’t win it.
3) Old-new top line - the move of Kaapo Kakko back to play with Mika Zibanejad and Kreider didn’t have a major impact. Other than one great shift by Kakko in the third period when he looked like the player we saw in the WJC, the trio didn’t do much. New York has two games remaining until the March 8 trade deadline. Expect this trio to play together in those two contests, though I am not sure if the minutes they are on the ice in those games will show us much more than we know already.
4) Matt Rempe didn’t drop the gloves. This qualifies as news after four fights in his first five games. With all eyes on him for what I noted in the prior sentence and a match up against Mathieu Olivier, who he fought Sunday, Rempe did not have a bout.
Depending on which report you read, Rempe may have tried to engage Olivier, who didn’t. But I have only read that from one reporter. Rempe, who had four hits, skated a career-high 7:42, a number that actually is lower than expected. But coach Peter Laviolette basically rolled three lines in the third period protecting a one-goal lead, giving the fourth line one shift in the period.
Adam Edström and Rempe were solid when in the ice. The duo continue to be a weapon, forechecking and getting physical in the high-danger areas, to create a little havoc. How this unit will look in a little more than a week is very up in the air, as decisions made by GM Chris Drury will shape how this bottom trio is constituted.
5) Igor Shesterkin is most certainly back. The late-2023 and January slide is a faded memory. Igor went 7-0 in February, posting a 1.72 goals-against average and .953 save percentage. Now, he just needs to work on his stick handling, as his quasi-turnover on clear around the boards led to the only Blue Jackets’ goal.
6) Blue line - Adam Fox scored the power play goal set by Olivier coming to the defense of Johnny Gaudreau on what he viewed as questionable hit in center-ice by Trocheck. After a review, the penalty on Trocheck was taken off the board and New York got a PP on the retaliation. Erik Gudbranson had the puck skip over his stick with an easy path to a clear, presided very slightly by Kreider, who had Fox for the shot in the slot.
While Fox scored, I thought Braden Schneider and Jacob Trouba were the team’s best blue liners last night. Schneider was physical and positionally solid in the victory. Same with Trouba. Ryan Lindgren was his usual self while K’Andre Miller was mildly better. Erik Gustafsson was fine but still seems to be the weakest defensive link.
New York surrendered 10 high-danger shots. Columbus pinned the team in their own zone for much of the third period and had several chances to tie the game. Own zone coverage continues to be a work-in-progress, which is not a primal strategy, and especially Saturday against Toronto given their scoring talent.
New York Rangers Blogger • 
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