A scrambling Henrik Lundqvist gets a surprise visit from teammate John Moore.
AP Photo/J Pat Carter

Make no mistake. Henrik Lundqvist was the biggest reason for this win. The final score was Rangers 5 Panthers 2. But it was far from indicative of tonight’s gobble fest on Turkey Eve. It was the brilliant play their goalie that allowed them to escape with their third win in four on a five-game road trip that concludes in Boston on Black Friday.

Playing against a young, faster opponent, the Rangers took them lightly. It could’ve been very different if not for some strong goaltending from Lundqvist during a lopsided second period. Ahead on a first period power play goal from Derick Brassard, they looked gassed. A determined Panthers got the first seven shots of the second while dominating territorially. Even with Alain Vigneault scape goating frequent target Mike Del Zotto, the team was sloppy throughout. The D turned over the puck repeatedly. However, they were bailed out by Lundqvist (31 saves).

Looking much sharper than Monday’s nightmare in Tampa, he stopped the Panthers in their tracks. In particular, he was strong with 12 saves during the middle stanza which propelled the Blueshirts to a 2-0 lead. Despite getting badly outplayed, they increased their lead thanks to a wise shot by Brad Richards that deflected off a Florida defenseman past Tim Thomas. The unassisted goal was a prime example of what our shooters need to do. Instead of overpassing as Mats Zuccarello was later guilty of, just take the shot. To quote the Great One, “You miss 100 percent of the shots you don’t take.”

It certainly applies with this team. In the third, Florida continued its shooting gallery at Lundqvist. Some of their shots missed the net while a dozen others were blocked. Brian Boyle’s sliding block of one attempt exemplified how they have to play to win. Considering how ugly most of the game was, the old Tort philosophy was a key factor. They spent an awful lot of time in their end. The Panthers dominated in face-offs winning 37 of 61 (61 percent). If you’re going to do it that way, rely on your best player (Hank) and do the little things that don’t show up on the stat sheet.

The Panthers certainly helped the cause. A blind giveaway to our top finisher Rick Nash led to a layup for his second goal since returning. Up to that point, he’d been kept in check. But he only needed one opportunity and made the most out of it. That’s all we can ask for. Nash is the one legitimate goal scorer on the roster.

Of course, our D made it interesting allowing two goals less than four minutes apart. With John Moore battling in the corner, he got the puck to Zuccarello. But a blind giveaway to Brad Boyes allowed him to feed Scottie Upshall cutting it to 3-1 with 7:32 left. Zuccarello slammed his stick on the top of the net in frustration. It was a silly turnover that gave Florida momentum. A few shifts later, Nick Bjugstad skated around Ryan McDonagh and snuck a backhand five-hole on Lundqvist for an unassisted tally suddenly making it a one-goal contest with 3:43 remaining. For as much credit as he gets, it was horrible D by McDonagh. Contrary to popular belief, he’s not a top 10 defenseman yet. Give it more time. Lundqvist fell asleep on it.

Fortunately, a good forecheck led to a hooking minor on Panthers rookie Aleksander Barkov. One of the themes from earlier was a beautiful power play goal scored by the second unit. On it, John Moore started the play with Derek Stepan dishing for Zuccarello, who one touched it for a sweet Brassard finish. Funny how when I call out guys, it works. 😛 Chris Kreider is also on that unit. He’s been more quiet lately but a strong shift following Florida’s second tally reestablished momentum. On the man-advantage, he parked in front of Thomas distracting him on a Moore shot. The rebound went to Kreider, who inadvertently deflect off his skate right to a much happier Zuccarello in front for his third. That second power play goal restored order with 1:28 left. Carl Hagelin scored into an open net to wrap it up.

The Del Zotto Principle: It wasn’t the prettiest victory. Ryan Callahan struggled again. The D still got caught pinching too much even without Del Zotto. Marc Staal in particular was shaky. For as much blame as Del Zotto gets after being a healthy scratch for a fifth time, what about Staal? He’s supposed to be one of the team leaders. His play has been anything but steady. Just once, I’d like to see Vigneault show some consistency.

It’s not just Del Zotto, who appears to be on his way out. The blueline has underperformed. Replacement Justin Falk didn’t have a strong game taking a bad penalty and falling down which led to a chance against. He did block two shots and deliver three hits in 21 shifts (12:04). The dilemma is this. If they move Del Zotto, what exactly can they get in return? It’s not like they’re showcasing him.

When Vigneault goes with Falk and Moore, that puts more pressure on McDonagh and Dan Girardi. Each took 27 shifts and had over 26 minutes. Isn’t that what our fans used to complain about with Tort? AV is falling into the same pattern. Anton Stralman saw 30 shifts (20:32) along with Staal (18:40).  It’ll be interesting to see how their top four hold up over an Olympic season.

BONY 3 Stars:

3rd Star-Erik Gudbranson, Fla (4 shots, hit, +2 in 30 shifts-20:57-steady throughout)

2nd Star-Scottie Upshall, Fla (5th of season, 5 SOG, takeaway, -1 in 19:26-best Panther)

1st Star-Henrik Lundqvist, NYR (31 saves incl. 12/12 in big 2nd-aside from the late hiccup dominant)