The Rangers rebounded from the 7-4 loss to the Capitals to defeat the Blackhawks 6-2 on Sunday. New York fell behind 1-0 but carried play for stretches after that against a subpar Chicago team. The Blueshirts kickoff a rough stretch of games Tuesday, as their next four contests are home vs. Dallas and New Jersey and on the road in Vegas and Colorado..
A few thoughts:
1) Mika Zibanejad continued his improved play. After a turnover that led to Chicago’s first goal - which was largely due to Jonny Brodzinski’s (dressed with Chris Kreider out due to a UBI, my guess is his back) soft play on the wing and Adam Fox failing to tie up Tyler Bertuzzi in front - Zib had a solid game. He has raised his level of play since the Xmas break and especially, start of the new year. Mika is still not at the level needed to be a first or second center but his play, and more importantly, his engagement on the ice is far better than a few weeks ago.
2) Filip Chytil netted a pair of goals. The line of Will Cuylle-Chytil-Brett Berard is generating solid opportunities each game. This trio should remain together to see if they can build on the burgeoning chemistry.
Alexis Lafreniere ended his eight game point drought. But his 13-game goal drought remains. Laf’s olay and hat of his line has fallen off. His decline started shortly after he signed his extension. If the Rangers plan to get back into contention, the Bread-Troch-Laf line has to show the way.
3) Defense - still a work in progress but some signs of improvement. Adam Fox (who needs to shoot a lot more) and Ryan Lindgren are not back to what we got used to seeing the past few seasons. But they too have been better. The K’Andre Miller and Will Borgen (who scored yesterday) duo is showing some signs that they can be a decent pair. Same with Urho Vaakanainen and Braden Schneider. I like what I have seen from V and think he could be solid third pair d-man. If New York doesn’t improve enough to make the playoffs, solid play from Borgen would allow the Rangers to recoup an asset for him.
I know Ryan Callahan spent a lot of time discussing New York’s improved play in their own zone. Watching the game, I am not sure if this was more on the Blueshirts or on Chicago being so-so offensively. To me, still a lot of gaps in their own zone, but they were better.
4) Louis Domingue was strong between the pipes. Dominigue got the nod with Dylan Garand sidelined and made the most of the start. Jonathan Quick will see most of the action in net with Igor Shesterkin out with an injury. But Dominigue showed he can be counted on when needed.
5) LA placed Arthur Kaliyev on waivers. Someone will grab him. If he gets to New York, I wonder if they take a flier on him, which would be worthwhile.
Gabe Perreault and Drew Fortescue won gold again as the US defeat Finland 4-3 in overtime on Teddy Stiga’s game-winner. I would prefer that the gold medal game is played at even strength and not 3 on 3 in the extra session. But that doesn’t diminish the accomplishment of back to back gold medals for the US.
The win is nice. To impress me, get through this five game gauntlet in decent shape. After those five contests, the road isn’t that much easier, but most of the games are at home. Matches against Columbus, Montreal, Ottawa, Philadelphia, Colorado and Carolina loom to close the month, all at MSG save for the Montreal game.
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