The New York Rangers continued their recent hot streak, defeating the Lightning 7-3 on the road Wednesday. New York benefited from the absences of Anthony Cirelli, Victor Hedman and others. Nevertheless, you play who is in your schedule and don’t look a gift horse in the mouth. The Blueshirts received production from the forwards and blueliners during the contest and are now 8-1-1 in the road.
Game recap:
Rangers lines vs. Tampa Bay:
Gabe Perreault – Mika Zibanejad – J.T. Miller
Artemi Panarin – Vincent Trocheck – Alexis Lafrenière
Will Cuylle – Noah Laba – Conor Sheary
Adam Edström – Sam Carrick – Taylor Raddysh
Vladislav Gavrikov – Adam Fox
Carson Soucy – Will Borgen
Urho Vaakanainen – Braden Schneider
Igor Shesterkin
[Jonathan Quick]
Scratches: Juuso Pärssinen, Jonny Brodzinski, Matthew Robertson
LTIR: Matt Rempe (upper-body injury)
Rangers Postgame Observations
1) Offense – maybe all the team really needed was the return of Vincent Trocheck. Two games, two wins. But the turnaround for his linemates started well before Vinny’s return.
Artemi Panarin continued his roll with four assists. The creativity we all have become accustomed to in New York since he signed his seven year deal have been on full display. That was never more evident on Trocheck’s second goal where Panarin gained the offensive zone 1-on-3, curled back to the blueline to create time and space and found a pinching Urho Vaakanainen on the opposite wing. Vaakanainen hit a wide open trailer in Trocheck and the score became 6-3 Rangers.
Alexis Lafreniere is on a roll. His uptick in play started very quietly but has become very loud. “Laf” is noticeable all 200 feet of the ice, both offensively and defensively. On the offensive end, Lafreniere is up to 10 points his last 10 games. Defensively, his backchecking has become a staple of his game, which was not always the case early in his career.
2) Blueline and Goalie:
Five members of the blueline contributed points. Only Braden Schneider, who I thought had a pretty solid game, failed to sent the scoresheet. Will Borgen notched a goal, Adam Fox, Vladislav Gavrikov, Carson Soucy, who knocked Brandon Hagel on his rear with a clean hard check, and Vaakanainen tallied assists. Not all was perfect as Tampa posted three goals in the first and carried play in the second, but overall, a solid game from the defensemen.
Igor Shesterkin was not his sharpest in the first, allowing three shots past him when it was firewagon and pond hockey with seven overall goals scored. But he flipped the switch thereafter, especially on the second period when the Lightning pushed to try and tie the game or take the lead. Igor was a stone wall in net in that frame and finished with 33 saves to notch another win.
3) Cuylle moved up:
Coach Mike Sullivan made a key move during the game, moving Will Cuylle from the third to first line and Gabe Perreault down to the third line. The change wasn’t a punishment for Perreault, rather it was matchup driven to place a bigger skater who is more of a veteran opposite Tampa’s first line. The swap made a big difference the final two stanzas. To show that this was just a matchup move and not a demotion, Perreault needs to start the next game on the first line. Move him down after if needed, as skating next to Noah Laba is a fine option.
RIP Brooksie
The hockey world was hit on Nov. 13 by news of Larry Brooks’ passing. A hockey media icon in New York, Brooks was The Voice of hockey in the metropolitan area. Love him or hate him, Brooks was a must read, especially his Sunday SlapShots column.
We all knew he was not well when he missed the home opener. His passing from cancer at 75 came way too quickly and leaves a void in the hockey and New York media. Brooks’ arguments with John Tortorella and Dan Boyle became must see TV and was fodder for all.
Brooks was who every hockey writer aspired to be. Acerbic and biting when needed, willing to call out any injustice or stupidity – and there certainly was a lot of it over the years – he saw, irrespective of who was the cause. That went from the commissioner on down.
He knew the CBA inside and out, and as Mike Vaccaro noted in his tremendous tribute below, Brooks made Mollie Walker read and know the document cover to cover when she started. That level of knowledge was evident in his comments in his column.
Brooks angered many. Yet, despite his strong views, respect existed across the hockey landscape. Those who were thought to be on his bad lost knew they could reach out and have a discussion with Brooks or just pick his hockey brain with no ramifications. The tributes coming from the hockey world, high and low, is evidence of the impact he had.
Sean Avery put Brooks’ impact best in Vaccaro’s column:
“I like to think that I was a guy who could change the momentum of a game when I came on the ice,” said Avery, the immensely popular left wing who played parts of six seasons for the Rangers. “Brooksie could do that with the swipe of his pen. The guys that really understood playing for the Rangers all had a good relationship with Brooksie because he loves hockey players.”
Home › Forums › New York Rangers Win in Tampa, RIP Larry Brooks
Tagged: New York Rangers, nhl