Rangers bounce back with win over Washington

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Entering tonight’s game, the Rangers had lost two straight in Florida by a combined score of 13-6. Coming home to MSG for a tilt with the Washington Capitals meant the team was in for another difficult matchup. But unlike their games in the Sunshine State, the Rangers played a full 60-minute game in a 4-1 win over the 2018 Stanley Cup champions.

Artemiy Panarin – When the Rangers landed the summer’s prized free agent, expectations were high for Artemiy Panarin. And through the first six weeks, he has not disappointed. Panarin registered a point for the 12th consecutive game, as he recorded two power play goals to help pace the Rangers.

Panarin’s first goal came early in the second period, as he took Kaapo Kakko’s cross-ice pass and buried it past Braden Holtby.

For an encore, it was Kakko once again setting up the Breadman with the Rangers on the man advantage. Kakko received the puck at the side of the net and spun towards the net. Kakko lost the puck, but it found the stick of Panarin for the eventual game winner.

To say Panarin has been impressive in his first season with the Blueshirts would be an understatement. The young Russian now has 25 points on the season and is the team’s offensive superstar of the future.

Pavel Buchnevich – It was a bit of an up and down game for Buchnevich, who was in the ”Quinn Bin” for a good chunk of the second period. But the Russian responded as well as Quinn could’ve hoped in the third, with Buchnevich scoring a beautiful goal just 23 seconds following Panarin’s third-period tally. Buchnevich worked a give-and-go with Filip Chytil from the top of the circles with #89 finishing it off into an empty net.

Buchnevich has had himself a solid season. It was only the third goal of the season for the 24-year-old Russian, but it was his 16th point in just 19 games.

Brett Howden – As the guys on the NBC broadcast mentioned, Brett Howden took a beating in this one. Howden got hit hard a few times by the Capitals, including a hit that forced him slowly to the bench in the first period. But all that punishment was worth it at the end, when Howden was the beneficiary of some great work by Chris Kreider and the previously mentioned Buchnevich. Buchnevich won the board battle and found a wide-open Howden for the goal.

Howden’s goal was his third of the season as well, as he continues to put in the work playing alongside Brendan Lemieux and Kaapo Kakko.

Brendan Lemieux – He got on the scoresheet with the secondary assist on Buchnevich’s goal, but Lemieux gets into the recap for what he did after recording the assist. With Tom Wilson jawing at the Rangers all game, as well as throwing some big hits, Wilson decided to take a run at Lemieux. Channeling his father, Lemieux got up and immediately dropped the gloves with Wilson for a spirited scrap. Sequences like that will go a long way in the locker room.

Henrik Lundqvist – It was a milestone night for King Henrik, who passed Grant Fuhr for tenth on the NHL’s regular-season starts list for goaltenders. After the game, Henrik would also tie Curtis Joseph for fifth on the all-time wins list with his 454th career v ictory. Lundqvist made 30 saves, including this breakaway stop in the first period. David Quinn said yesterday he wanted to get Henrik Lundqvist on a roll, and a performance like tonight is undoubtedly a great start.

Next Game: The Rangers head north of the border for a matchup with the Senators. Puck drops at 730!

LETS GO RANGERS!!

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