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Game 15: NYR 5 MTL 3, Pionk’s spin-on-rama, goal off rush highlight in win |
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The Rangers rallied from 3-1 down in the second period to defeat Montreal 5-3 on Tuesday. New York tallied four goals in the final 22:15 of the game to win their fourth straight and even their season mark at 7-7-2 after starting 0-3. Excellent efforts by Kevin Hayes, Neal Pionk, Filip Chytil, Lias Andersson etc. No quit in this team, which is the best part of all. Coach David Quinn has to keep playing the kids and it should be fun once Brett Howden is back.
Game Recap:
David Quinn Post-Game:
Dan Rosen said it well in his game recap. Quinn didn't like how they were playing, particularly in the second period. He said he felt they were coasting, not skating hard enough, not being physical enough, not giving enough effort, so he let them know.
"All I said is don't come in here and act like you care about it if you don't put the effort into it," Quinn said. "You've got to earn victories in this league and I thought we did a pretty good job of that in the third period. I thought we earned it."
Team responded to that challenge. They play with a bit of an edge, which was lacking in the past few years. I attribute that to Quinn, you can hear it in his tone when he talks and is annoyed at something. Comes across clearly, which was the case in the locker room after the second period, compete level has trickled down to the team.
A quick overview on the goals scored:
Tomas Tatar's first goal gave Montreal a 1-0 lead 23 seconds into the game. He kept the puck on a 2-on-1 and beat Henrik Lundqvist through the five-hole with a wrist shot from the left face-off circle. Bad pinch by Pionk created the 2-on-1 for the tally.
The Rangers tied it 1-1 on Chris Kreider's goal off a 2-on-1 rush at 15:50 of the first. Great play by Hayes to cause the turnover from Jonathan Drouin leading to 2-on-1. First pass was blocked, but Hayes stuck with the play and was able to get the puck to CK20.
Tatar and Max Domi scored in a span of 1:47 early in the second period. Tatar made it 2-1 with a redirection from the right circle at 4:40 after Brady Skjei lost his stick, creating havoc and lousy coverage again in the d-zone. Domi extended the lead to 3-1 with a power-play goal at 6:27, on a play where four Rangers were in the corner, leaving Domi all alone in front. A move to the backhand and Domi was able to beat Lundqvist, but that was the last marker allowed in the game by Lundqvist. It was Domi’s ninth goal in 15 games; he scored nine in 82 games last season.
The Rangers began their rally when Tony DeAngelo scored on a wrist shot through traffic to make it 3-2 with 2:15 remaining in the second. Great pass by Hayes and screens in front of Carey Price by Hayes and Vladislav Namestnikov.
Pavel Buchnevich, who had a strong game, scored at 8:25 of the third period tying the contest. Marc Staal started the play with a nice feed in the defensive zone to Hayes, who came up ice and found a trailing Staal, whose shot wasn't handled by Price. The rebound fell at his feet and Buch was there in front to bang it home. Hayes's assist on the play game him an NHL career-high three helpers in the contest.
Pionk scored on a 4-on-4 sequence at 17:16 to give the Rangers a 4-3 lead.
He started the play behind the Rangers net, came out with the puck, made a spin move to get away from Drouin, took the puck down the left-wing wall, cut inside Noah Juulsen and tucked it past Carey Price, going across the crease to the forward rather than trying to beat Price with a backhand. This score could end up as one of the best goals all season in the league and should be one of the best scored by New York.
Pionk would benefit from playing with a better defensive partner and needs work in his outlet passes, as he has a tendency to put the puck off the boards to clear the zone rather than finding someone else in the same color jersey. But the talent he has is clearly visible and many of us believe he still has a ton of growth remaining.
Mika Zibanejad extended the Rangers lead to 5-3 with a shorthanded goal at 18:12, preventing Montreal from breaking out of the zone and stealing the puck. His attempted pass was blocked, but he stuck with it and Price up high for the clinching marker.
Here are all three goals scored in the third by New York
I thought Chytil had a pretty solid game, the same for Andersson, despite the two kind of weak penalties against. When Howden returns, all three players need to remain in the lineup. Bench Cody McLeod, who did stick up for his teammates last night, but took extra penalties in doing so, and Vinni Lettieri so that three kids arw active nightly. The lines may take some juggling, possibly moving Chytil or Andersson to wing, but watching those three in each game should be fun. Also, for all those talking that Hayes needs to go, I reiterate how big of a mistake I think that is. Now, if you can get a stud, d-prospect or young blue liner with major upside for him, I would understand trading him. Beyond that, I think he is more worthy of an extension rather than a move out of town.
A fun win. You have to love the effort. Even if the team loses, they refuse to give up in every game. This reminds me of the early stages of John Tortorella’s reign, when New York wither rallied in the third period, and even if not, they kept battling to the last whistle. Part of that is due to Quinn’s competitive spirit, which appears to have permeated the locker room team, removing the stench of the past few seasons, where far too often that wasn’t the case. I have no idea where this team will place in the standings, but they should give us a reason to watch nightly knowing that the effort will exist and be on full display.
New York Rangers Blogger • 
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