Rangers new-look 4th line leads way against Islanders with ‘smart game in the offensive zone’
Their 5-1 victory over the New York Islanders on Tuesday was crucial for the New York Rangers in their push to qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs. And in one of their biggest games, the Rangers were led by three unlikely heroes on the fourth line.
The line of rookie Brennan Othmann, veteran Jonny Brodzinski and towering forward Matt Rempe scored three of the Rangers’ five goals and was a handful for the Islanders all night long.
“I thought that they did a good job playing a simple game,” coach Peter Laviolette said postgame. “Most of the goals they were on the ice for, they were kind of simple offense: low to high, get to the front of the net, screens, tips, second opportunities, so I thought they really did a good job of just playing a smart game in the offensive zone.”
With the game tied 1-1, Brodzinski scored two goals before the first intermission (12:39 and 19:12) to give the Blueshirts a lead that they held the rest of the game. Both goals looked very similar. Brodzinski fired the puck toward the net from long range; Islanders goaltender Ilya Sorokin was screened and didn’t react in time as it flew past him.
Brodzinski’s two linemates took turns as traffic in front of the net on his goals: Rempe was out front on his first goal, with the puck actually going between his legs before finding the back of the net. Othmann disturbed Sorokin’s vision on his second goal.
The line delivered again in the second period on a similar play. Brodzinski once again spun a shot from inside the blue line with traffic in front taking Sorokin’s eyes away.
This time, Rempe got his stick on it for a beautiful redirect goal. His second goal of the season was a perfect way to cap off one of his most complete games since entering the NHL a year ago last February.
“Jonny obviously had a big game, that was maybe [Rempe’s] best game offensively, [Othmann] came up and did a really good job just contributing offensively,” Laviolette stated.
Playing his first NHL game of the season – and only the fourth of his career – Othmann did his job on New York’s most effective line. He’s still looking for his first NHL point, but the 22-year-old was physical, won puck battles and was plus-3, making his best case to stay in the lineup even when Chris Kreider returns from injury.
“I enjoy every day when I put on the Rangers jersey, whenever that opportunity comes, and I thought we did a good job tonight, our line,” Othmann said. “I thought we did a good job overall. I’m just happy to be here and contribute the best I can for however long that is.”
Related: 3 Rangers takeaways from 5-1 thrashing of archrivals on Long Island
‘Honest player’ Jonny Brodzinski has big night for Rangers
Brodzinski scored two goals for the first time in 185 NHL games. It was also his first career three-point game.
For Brodzinski and the Rangers’ fourth line, their success came from the simplicity of their game.
“You saw with a few of the goals,” he said. “Throwing pucks at the net they just somehow find a way, so just doing a little bit more of that and I think we’ll get more scoring opportunities.”
Neither of Brodzinski’s goals were by any means flashy, but they got the job done. He played well with Rempe and Othmann, who both were more than willing to get to the dirty areas in front of the net. The line was also solid on the forecheck and consistently won puck battles to keep the puck in the Islanders’ zone when they were on the ice, something other Rangers lines struggled to do, especially in the first 40 minutes of the game.
Contributions from New York’s bottom six are immensely important down the stretch, especially with how banged up the Blueshirts have been as of late. Kreider missed his second straight game with an upper-body injury, Vincent Trocheck is fighting through a broken finger he sustained at the 4 Nations Face-Off and the Rangers saw two defensemen, Adam Fox (upper body) and K’Andre Miller (lower body), leave with injury on Tuesday night.
Brodzinski came up in a big way and Othmann – who spent some time as his teammate with Hartford in the American Hockey League last season – is glad to see him getting the recognition after his great performance.
“I’m happy for him. He deserves it. He’s a really good player, and I’m glad he’s finally got an opportunity to play at the NHL level,” Othmann said. “I think that he’s an honest player, and you know what to expect from him every day and every night. He works hard. He has a really good release, and I’m happy to see that he’s getting some success and he’s getting some recognition. I think he deserves it, and I was happy to be his winger tonight and contribute with him.”
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