The Rangers with a pair of third-period goals to defeat the Red Wings 3-2 on Wednesday at MSG. A rough second period allowed Detroit to score two tallies in 23 seconds to take a 2-1 lead. But the resilient Blueshirts, in a game that was very physical with a few checks that have raised the ire of a few of the Hockeytown faithful, were able to rally late to notch the victory. New York kicks off their December schedule in Nashville on Saturday followed by a home game the next day versus the Sharks.
A few thoughts:
1) Physical play: maybe it was the presence of Patrick Kane at the morning skate, but the two teams certainly dished out hits in this one. New York was likely the more aggressive of the two, with hits that may have been borderline dirty, though none rightfully resulted in a five minute major or misconduct.
Will Cuylle boarded Shayne Gostisbehere, sending Ghost down the tunnel to the locker room. Contact looked to be to the shoulder, but the body was turned and contact was certainly borderline dangerous. Cuylle needs to be cognizant of where he is as well as his opponent in addition to his size when dishing out hits. The two minutes looked to be the correct call, though if New York was on the receiving end, I could see the consternation over the call.
Vincent Trocheck had a knee on knee hit on Lucas Raymond. You all know my view on knee to knee hits. Trocheck is not known as a dirty play, but any contact to the lower play where the leg is the initial part of contact from the hitter has to be reviewed. i don't think there was intention here, but again, could see getting your ire up.
Cuylle was called for a four minute major for hitting Raymond in the mouth with his stick. Upon review, thank god, this was correctly reversed, as Raymond was holding and lifted Cuylle's stick resulting in the call. How then was that a two-minute holding the stick call on Raymond?
Chris Kreider blasted Alex DeBrincat near the bench. DeBrincat saw Kreider coming, lowered his body slightly, resulting in the high point of contact and you want a call? Sorry, no dice and Kreider is far from a dirty player.
2) Vesey does it - Jimmy Vesey has a knack for game winning goals. Of his 88 tallies, 25 have been game-winning goals. Take that with a grain of salt, as not aall GWG are created alike. To me, GWG late in a tie game is way more important than one scored early in a 5-2 victory, but a 28.4% ratio is impressive irrespective of when those goals occur. Yesterday, it was a late goal, which stood up under review for a high stick, with the original play made by Alexis Lafreniere after he came out of the penalty box.
Incredible finish by Vesey, but Lafreniere makes this whole play happen by taking the middle of the ice and drawing in that #LGRW defensemen.
Vesey, in his post-game interview on TNT, remarked how he has gotten much more comfortable in his role starting with his year in New Jersey and last season. He is utilizing his skills and that comfort level has been readily apparent on the ice. In the blog comments, TJ suggested moving him up to play with Zib and Kreider. Given the struggles 5x5 of that line and the use of various linemates there, including Blake Wheeler recently, I can understand the suggestion. Vesey has shown he can move up and down the lineup, but it's not a move I would make now for a few reasons.
- the team finally has a fourth line with identity that can cycle the puck, wear the opponent down and contribute offensively. Changing that up now impacts not just the top line but this one as well. I am cognizant this trio originally had Nick Bonino as the center but prefer to maintain a unit that is hot
- Filip Chytil will eventually be back. Making a change now may necessitate another change when he returns. Plus, we don't know if he will be a center or wing and on which line. Does Wheeler get displaced? Bonino or Jonny Brodzinski on the third line? I would rather make the changes at once than in multiple iterations.
- while Vesey might excel on the top line, it's also possible his success is due to his current placement. The only way to know is to make a change, but at 16-4-1, coach Peter Laviolette is likely to maintain the status quo
3) Lafreniere continues to excel. Vince Mercogliano noted that the The Lafrenière-Trocheck-Panarin line was active all night, leading the way with 12 shots on goal and only five allowed. Those three combined for 30 shot attempts, with Lafrenière making several "wow" passes and earning two assists, first on Panarin's tally to open the scoring and then on Vesey's to close it out. This trio and the fourth line have been carrying the team offensively 5x5.
4) Block Ness Monsters: Jacob Trouba, who reached the 700 game plateau last night, had two massive blocks down the stretch, giving him five for the game. In addition, as time wound down. Barclay Goodrow added one more for good measure. In the second and early third periods, it was Detroit blocking everything in sight. Down the stretch, New York sealed the win by sacrificing their bodies, as they have done throughout the season.
5) Resiliency - as Mercogliano noted, yesterday was the team's fifth third-period comeback victory and 16th win overall through 21 games, which gives them an NHL-best .786 points percentage. They easily could have gotten down after dominating the first period and early into the second but saw themselves down after allowing two goals in 23 seconds in the middle frame to trail midway through the third. But they once again found a way.
The Rangers outshot the Red Wings, 41-28, much of that early and late, and won the high-danger scoring chance battle, 26-11, according to Natural Stat Trick. They were goalied for much of the game by Husso, who made 38 saves, plus had another 25 attempts blocked by Detroit skaters and 18 others missed the target entirely. Igor Shesterkin saved the Rangers bacon a few times, including making several point blank saves. The penalty killers stepped up late, Zib found K'Andre Miller for the tying goal, Vesey netted the winner and it was sticks raised at center ice after the contest.
New York Rangers Blogger • 
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