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Game 75: NYR 5 BUF 1, Vesey w/ a pair, Andersson/Chytil officially promoted |
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The Rangers ended a three-game losing streak with a 5-1 win over the Sabres. Neal Pionk notched his first NHL goal, Chris Kreider and Mika Zibanejad remained hot while Alexandar Georgiev stoped 43 shots, including all 21 in the first period. New York officially called up Lias Andersson and Filip Chytil on Sunday and each should be in the lineup Monday against Washington.
Condensed Game:
Pionk earned the Broadway hat, tallying his first goal after a pretty passing play into and in the offensive zone. While not big, Pionk has shown better offensive instincts than I expected, tallying 13 points his last 12 games, scoring in seven straight. He may not possess the skating speed of John Gilmour but Pionk is able to quickly get from point A to point B and plays bigger than his size.
Zibanejad’s goal was his seventh over the past five straight games, the 10th in his last 11 and his 27th overall this season. The late close makes his numbers look better after a major slump following his return from a concussion, when he scored just eight times in 34 games. From listening to what Zib has said lately, he believes he can be the team’s #1 center and wants the chance to fill that role. Confidence breeds confidence and it’s a chicken or egg question. Does scoring lead to confidence or having confidence lead to scoring? Whichever you believe, Zib has it going now.
The same can be said of Kreider, who notched his 15th of the year, and Jesper Fast, whose assist extended his point streak to eight games. Jimmy Vesey has a pair of goals, upping his total to 17 on the year. It’s been an uneven year for the third year pro, but he has started to take advantage of the additional ice time and chances he has been afforded. New York will have an interesting decision to make on Vesey, who isn’t truly a bottom six player, though the third line is likely where he belongs, but also hasn’t shown enough to play a top-six role.
Georgiev just battles when he is between the pipes. The win improved his season mark to 3-1-1 and the more he play, the more it looks he can be Henrik Lundqvist’a backup next year. Georgiev has been technically proficient when in the ice, but as Steve Valiquette has said, he isn’t a slave to style, doing whatever he can to stop the pick, regardless of how it looks. The work with Benoit Allaire has paid dividends, smoothing out the rough spots for the unseated Bulgarian.
Official release:
Andersson and Chytil should be in the lineup the last seven games of the season. One word of caution. Each is a work in progress. The goal is both to get their feet wet and learn what’s required to succeed at this level. Whether they go 0-for-7 or 7-for-7, scoring in every game, pump the brakes on either the praise or criticism. It’s great to see more home-grown kids get a chance to success, especially a pair of first round picks last year. Looking forward to seeing them both on the ice Monday.
New York Rangers Blogger • 
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