The Rangers played a solid defensive game against the Blue Jackets, defeating Columbus 4-0. Igor Shesterkin stopped 21 shots for his fifth shutout of the season. Vincent Trocheck tallied twice while Artemi Panarin, who extended his point streak to eight games, and Alexis Lafreniere each had a goal and an assist. New York, who has one of the toughest remaining schedules, faces Edmonton at home tonight with 15 games remaining in the regular season. It may be time for the daily schedule summary in the blog..
A few thoughts:
1) Standings:The Rangers (33-28-6) now sit in the Eastern Conference's final wild-card spot, with 15 games left to secure it. Montreal also won Saturday and remained one point behind New York. They actually own a slightly higher points percentage (.538 vs. .537) because they've played one fewer game, with Columbus just one point behind them. New York has gone 18-9-5 since Jan. 1, with their 41 points in that span ranking second in the conference
2) Defense: Just 21 shots against, none in the first period and a few late in the game when the result was determined. New York got better as the game went on. One high-danger shot in the third period, though that number seems low by 1-2 shots.
Keep the K'Andre Miller-Will Borgen pairing together. Don't mess up what's now broken. See if Braden Schendier deserves a turn on the top pair and mix and match if needed, but keep Miller and Borgen as a unit.
As Vince Mercogliano noted, the Rangers were charged with a workable 11 giveaways (compared to 22 for Columbus) and avoided the costly odd-man rushes that repeatedly burned them when the Jackets hung a seven spot at Madison Square Garden last Sunday.. Better puck control and possession as well as sustained forecheck made a huge difference, as did the return of Fox, who had missed the last eight games.
3) Mika March: Zibanejad continued his fine play Saturday. His aggressiveness created the turnover that resulted in the first goal. Peter Baugh summarized it nicely. Zib pressured Damon Severson just inside the blue line in the offensive zone, sending the puck toward the end boards. Daniil Tarasov, who was brilliant last Sunday versus New York and started with Elvis Merzlikins out, left his net to play the puck, but Mika got there first. He backhanded it to Lafrenière, who easily put it into the net before Tarasov could dive back. That snapped a 14-game goalless drought for the struggling winger.
Confidence begets confidence. Laf was on his toes the whole game after that tally. Maybe that goal is just what he needs to find his game. The assist by Mika gave him 20 points in his last 17 contests.
4) Fox started out slow but got better as he found his sea legs and muscle memory took over. He was paired with Urho Vaakanainen, but it remains to be seen if it will stay that way. Fox assisted on Vincent Trocheck's empty-net goal and finished with a plus-two rating in 20:36 time on ice. He failed to register a shot on goal but recorded two attempts and blocked two on the defensive end while playing first unit power play and on the penalty kill.
5) Fun fact: All three Rangers’ deadline additions — Carson Soucy, Juuso Pärssinen and Calvin de Haan — were healthy scratches against Columbus. Parsinnen and de Haan were toss-in components of those trades, so these two are less concerning to me. Giving up a third for Soucy, who had been having a poor season with Vancouver, was viewed as an overpayment at the time even if the hope was he would revert to his 2023-24 form. He struggled the first four games in New York, adapting to a new system, resulting in his benching. Right now, GM Chris Drury dealing the pick looks like a waste, though I do think he will play a key role next season. Giving up the pick isn't the issue, the round of the pick is the bigger issue.
#CBJ legend and former Ranger Rick Nash presented legendary MSG broadcaster Sam Rosen with a signed jersey tonight prior to his calling his final game in Columbus. Thanks for many years of great calls, Sam, and congrats on your retirement. pic.twitter.com/S0UMPjjyo1
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