Why Rangers must ‘keep playing like that’ after defeating Blues to snap slide
The New York Rangers played smart, two-way hockey Monday night when they ended a four-game losing streak by defeating the St. Louis Blues 3-2 at Madison Square Garden. Now they must do it again … and again … and again.
The Blueshirts often looked slow during their slide, especially while losing all three games of their Western trip last week. But the jump was back in their step against the Blues; New York scored three straight goals after Dylan Holloway’s perfect shot beat Igor Shesterkin late in the first period.
“We played better, faster,” said defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov, who had two assists and was an absolute horse, loging 26:09 TOI. “That’s really important to keep going, keep playing like that. That’s going to be the key.”
Coach Mike Sullivan said after the morning skate that “I don’t think the team as a group, over the last handful of games, has played the game the right way.”
But that wasn’t the case against the low-scoring Blues.
The Rangers allowed only five high-danger chances at 5-on-5, according to Natural Stat Trick, and surrendered just one 5v5 tally – they held St. Louis without a goal for more than 40 minutes after Holloway scored and before Brayden Schenn potted a sixth-attacker goal with 1:15 remaining.
It was just the kind of low-event game Sullivan wanted to see from his team.
“We weren’t trading chance for chance or opening the game up and giving up a ridiculous amount of high-quality looks,” Sullivan said postgame. “You play the game the right way and you can create your offense through your defense. When you chase offense, sometimes it turns into a high-risk, reckless game. It’s hard to win that way. We talk with them a lot about just taking what the game gives them.
“We want them to trust their instincts, but there’s also an element of discipline in taking care of the puck in the critical areas of the rink. It’s an important aspect of being hard to play against.”
Rangers aim to build on win vs. Blues that ended losing streak
Offensively, the Rangers did something they must do more often if they’re going to run off some wins: They drove to the net. Third-period goals by Alexis Lafreniere and Adam Edstrom came after each went to the front of the net. Lafreniere’s tie-breaking goal 40 seconds into the final period was a deflection of a shot by Gavrikov; and Edstrom made it 3-1 at 8:56 when he scored from in front after Gavrikov snuck down below the goal line and found him.
“I thought we did a good job of getting inside in the offensive zone, just getting to the blue paint,” Sullivan said. ” ‘Eddy’s’ goal and ‘Laf’s’ goal, just getting to the blue paint. That’s where the majority of the goals are scored in this League. It’s no secret.”
The win got the Rangers (11-11-2) back to the NHL version of .500. But with road games against the Metropolitan Division-leading Carolina Hurricanes on Wednesday and the Boston Bruins on Friday, followed by home games against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday and the Dallas Stars on Tuesday, they’ll have to continue to play smart and fast if they hope to start piling up some wins.
“I thought we played a lot smarter tonight than we had in the last couple of games; protecting the puck a little better, knowing when is the right time to try someone one-on-one and we played sound defensively,” said center Vincent Trocheck, whose goal midway through the second period tied the game 1-1. “We’ve got to keep that up.
“I think we’re just focusing on each game one at a time right now. That’s all we can really do. Can’t really focus on if we’re on a losing streak or a winning streak. You gotta make sure you manage the highs and lows and take every win as they come”
Despite their recent struggles, the Rangers are just two points out of a playoff berth in the Eastern Conference, where all 16 teams are separated by nine points.
“We need wins,” Edstrom said. “The East is so tight right now. Any win you jump four spots and a loss you drop four spots. We needed this one”
