By their own admission, it wasn’t their best game. A strong third period was enough for the Rangers to defeat the Canucks 4-3 at Rogers Arena. Chris Kreider’s ninth goal with 9:17 left in regulation was the game-winner.
Mika Zibanejad made a nice play at the Vancouver blue line to keep the puck alive. After receiving a Zibanejad feed, Reilly Smith found an open Kreider down low where he beat Arthurs Silovs with a quick snapshot. It was a well-executed passing play from the first line that came at the right time. They had a little more impact on the win. Zibanejad finished with a goal and assist.
They prevailed despite falling behind early again. With the Canucks skating without J.T. Miller, they wasted no time taking the lead on the opening shift. On a cycle started by Elias Pettersson, Filip Hronek slid the puck over to Quinn Hughes, who then came out and went around Jacob Trouba before whipping a backhand past Igor Shesterkin. The goal came only 34 seconds into the game.
Aside from Trouba going down on the goal, there was no forward in the middle of the ice to help out. Zibanejad, Kreider, and Smith were out of the play completely. The number one line made up for it by evening the game up on their next shift.
On an offensive draw won by Zibanejad, Adam Fox set up a K’Andre Miller point shot that Zibanejad redirected off a Canucks player past Silovs at 2:31. It was a good faceoff play. Zibanejad now has a pair of goals over his last three games. Most notable was the assist for Miller. It was his first point in 12 games. His last one came on Oct. 19 against the Maple Leafs.
In a first period where they spent more time in the Vancouver zone, the Rangers could only manage a draw. Part of the reason for that was the play of Silovs. He made some good saves to keep his team in it. The Rangers outshot the Canucks 15-9. Despite dominating most of the play at even strength, they allowed two goals off the rush.
That included Igor Shesterkin letting in a bad goal to Kiefer Sherwood that tied it back up with under three minutes left in the period. He fought the puck most of the night. Shesterkin’s inconsistent play has seen him let in stoppable shots. After a great start to the season, he’s been up and down in November. In six starts, he has a 3.27 goals-against-average and .896 save percentage. At least he’s won four of the six games this month.
You could make the argument that Jonathan Quick has outplayed Shesterkin. However, he’s had a much lighter workload. Quick posted his second consecutive shutout by making 24 saves in a 2-0 win over the Kraken on Nov. 17. Peter Laviolette could’ve stuck with Quick for Tuesday night’s game. He decided against it. With no back-to-backs until after Thanksgiving, it’ll be interesting to see if Laviolette plays Shesterkin in both Calgary and Edmonton over the next three days.
In a tie hockey game, the Rangers went on the power play. After the top unit hardly did anything, out came the second unit. Will Cuylle has joined the unit with Filip Chytil still out. The second unit showed much more in their abbreviated time. They moved the puck quickly and set up some shots. That also included an active Kaapo Kakko, who is looking much better. His more aggressive mindset is paying off.
With the third line going early, Laviolette sent them back out for another shift. A Cuylle hit on Erik Brannstrom in the defensive zone helped lead to him converting a breakaway on a Kakko lead pass. Jonny Brodzinski moved the puck to Adam Fox, who made a good outlet for Kakko, who neatly tipped the puck ahead for Cuylle to move in and beat Silovs high glove to give the Rangers a 2-1 lead with 5:22 left. It was Cuylle’s sixth.
Following a big save from Silovs to deny a Panarin bid, the Canucks came back to tie the game. After receiving a Carson Soucy feed, Pettersson and Kiefer Sherwood played catch. With Pettersson coming through the neutral zone with speed, he gained the Rangers’ blue line and moved the puck back to Sherwood for a wrist shot from the right circle that went through Shesterkin to make it 2-2 with 2:21 remaining.
Ryan Lindgren was a bit late getting over to Sherwood. Shesterkin didn’t make the save. The second pair of Lindgren and Trouba had a tough night. They were on the ice for all three Canucks goals. While they had strong possession numbers, they got exposed in transition due to their lack of footspeed. That is a legit concern.
At the start of the second period, the Rangers successfully killed off the remainder of a Sam Carrick penalty. On a good shift back at five-on-five, Jimmy Vesey drew an interference minor on Nils Hoglander. That put the Rangers back on the power play.
Following some nonchalant play from the top unit that produced only two shots, the second unit brought more energy. After a Kakko faceoff win, Alexis Lafreniere got off a good shot from long range that Silovs handled. After the power play expired, the second unit continued to maintain puck possession. That led to Silovs stopping another Lafreniere shot.
The Rangers killed off a bad Braden Schneider penalty (illegal check to the head). Shesterkin stopped Hughes to keep it tied. After the successful kill, out came the third line. They made it happen. Brodzinski sent a nice cross-ice pass to Cuylle in the right circle. Instead of shooting it, he centered for Kakko who had a loose puck bounce back to him off a Canuck for a quick shot past Silovs that put the Rangers ahead 3-2 at 8:45.
It was Kakko’s second goal over the last four games. During that stretch, he’s played some of his best hockey -posting two goals and two assists with a plus-5 rating. The biggest difference is he isn’t overthinking. He has good chemistry with Cuylle, who could be becoming the team’s best overall forward. He provides a lot of grit combined with skill. Cuylle is part of the second ranked penalty kill. There isn’t much he doesn’t provide. He is a well-rounded player who’s become a real key to the team’s success. With six goals and eight assists, Cuylle is tied with Zibanejad and Lafreniere for third in team scoring with 14 points. All 14 have come at even strength, trailing only leading scorer Artemi Panarin (16 even strength points) for the most on the club.
For the third time in the game, the Rangers couldn’t handle prosperity. After a Silovs save on Trouba, the Canucks countered in the opposite direction to tie the score. On another quick rush up the ice that was started by Pius Suter, he handed off for Dakota Joshua, who fed Conor Garland. Garland then cruised into the slot and beat Shesterkin through traffic to even it at three with 6:58 left. Both Lindgren and Trouba were on for the goal.
But as MSG Rangers analyst Steve Valiquette asserted during the second intermission segment, Lafreniere didn’t do a good enough job to prevent Joshua from finding Garland wide open for the goal. All he had to was make a simple stick check. Defense isn’t a strength for Lafreniere, who’s been a bit of a disappointment so far. He hasn’t scored enough to justify some of the lackluster backchecking that has him a minus-5, which is tied with Zibanejad for the worst among all Rangers. He can definitely improve that area.
During a scrum, Zac Jones roughed the pesky Garland, who was a thorn in the side all game. Hronek elbowed Vincent Trocheck, who for the most part was quiet except for one of his ill-advised penalties late in the third period. Trocheck has also been underwhelming. With the exception of Panarin, none of the Rangers’ top players have played well. They’re lucky to have the 12-4-1 record they do through 15 games. The play of Cuylle, Filip Chytil, and Kakko has helped them be successful.
Nothing materialized on the four-on-four. The teams remained dead even headed to the final period. In it, the Rangers played good enough to come out with the two points. They got the first three shots on Silovs, who made a big save to deny a Jones’ backhand from right in front.
Shesterkin turned away Sherwood, who was everywhere. He had a goal and game-high 10 hits. The tenacious style he plays is similar to Cuylle. The 29-year-old forward isn’t as skilled but finishes every check and has a good shot. It looks like that was a good signing by the Canucks. He’s signed for two years at less than a two million cap hit. Can you say bargain?
A bit later, it was Silovs’ turn to make a good stop on Lafreniere, whose backhand was denied from in tight. Silovs would also make a pair of saves on Trouba point shots that were created thanks to the hard work of Brodzinski, Cuylle, and Kakko. Not to beat a dead horse. But they were far and away the best line. They produced two goals and outshot their opponent 7-1 at five-on-five.
With less than 10 minutes remaining, the first line struck thanks to some diligent work from Zibanejad. He forced Pettersson into a turnover inside the Vancouver blue line. Kreider then picked up the loose puck and moved it down low for Zibanejad, who pushed it across for Smith. He then found a cutting Kreider for his ninth to give the Rangers their third lead with 9:17 remaining.
This time, they made it stand up. Shesterkin delivered his best work with Trocheck in the penalty box for a ridiculous high-sticking minor that he took on Garland. Trocheck tried to goad Garland into taking a retaliation. He was lucky he didn’t receive an extra two for stupidity. He was yelling at the refs. As if it wasn’t the right call. To quote former coach John Tortorella, “Hold your bleeping discipline!”
Encouraging was that Shesterkin made a couple of tough stops on the Canucks power play. That included one on a long Hughes point shot and a tricky one off a Jake Debrusk deflection in front. That was his best save of the game. During the penalty kill, he grabbed Garland on an intense battle in the crease. It looked like football. The back and forth amused both Sam Rosen and Joe Micheletti. Garland plays a gritty game. He was a pest all night.
With Silovs off for an extra attacker late, Shesterkin had to deal with Garland on a tip-in as time wound down. He made the key save to preserve the victory.
I’ll say this for the Canucks. For a team that was without it’s best forward and top finisher, they sure made the Rangers earn it. That’s a credit to coach Rick Tocchet. They’re not that good right now without J.T. Miller and Brock Boeser. But they compete hard. If they can continue to do that, they should hang around long enough for their best players to return. That includes starter Thatcher Demko, who’s still on long-term injured reserve. There’s a good chance they’ll make the playoffs. If they do, I wouldn’t want to face them.
Road Warriors
The Rangers improved to 7-1-0 on the road. They’ve outscored opponents 35-13. That’s included the penalty kill going 91.7 percent (22-for-24). Although they didn’t connect on the man-advantage, they’re 6-for-18 (33.3 percent) on the road.
They’ll visit Calgary on Thursday night. Thankfully, the start time is 9 EST. That’s manageable. The Flames remain a league surprise with a 10-6-3 record. They’re tied with the Kings for second in the Northwest Division.
Rookie Dustin Wolf has played well in net. He’s 7-2-1 with a 2.36 GAA and .925 save percentage. If the 23-year-old from Gilroy, California continues to play well, he should find himself in the Calder conversation. Especially with the Flames not scoring a whole lot. Defenseman Rasmus Anderson leads them with 12 points. Jonathan Huberdeau and Nazem Kadri each have 10. Blake Coleman, Mikael Backlund, and Andrei Kuzmenko all have nine.
Keep an eye on Matt Coronato. The 22-year-old from Greenlawn, New York has five goals and two assists in 14 contests. A 2021 first round pick, he has a good release. The potential is there for him to become a 30-goal scorer.
The Flames are coming off a 2-1 shootout win over the Islanders. Kuzmenko and Justin Kirkland scored in the skill competition. Wolf made 28 saves and stopped Kyle Palmieri and Bo Horvat.
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