Rangers rock the Garden as Panarin and Fox lead scoring party over Penguins
Rangers vs Penguins: The Blueshirts threw a Garden Party on 7th and 34th last night as the New York Rangers came out firing on all cylinders. Before they reached the 10 minute mark of the first period they already had a 3-0 lead. The scoring didn’t end there for the home team either as eight different players tallied in this contest.
Artemi Panarin’s four points powers Rangers over Penguins
The Rangers were led by Artemi Panarin who scored four points (1G, 3A) to pace the team. His 40 points over just 27 games has him ranked only behind Connor McDavid in points per game 1.48 to 1.64 respectively. Will Panarin get consideration again for the Hart Trophy? Also on the award front; Adam Fox had three points (1G, 2A) and is now tied with Victor Hedman in defense scoring with 36. However Fox’s point per game of .96 is pacing all blue-liners this season. The debate is over on whether he deserves Norris Trophy consideration.
In the end the Rangers got goals from the kids as both Alexis Lafrenière and Kaapo Kakko joined the fun. Igor Shesterkin withstood the Penguins barrage of shots and made 41 saves as the Blueshirts won it 8-4. They are 5 points back of the Bruins for fourth in the East.
“Everyone contributed today and played well,” Mika Zibanejad who also scored said. “I think we’ve been playing pretty well as of late and just got to get a little bit better, but overall I thought we played a good game tonight.”
NHL.com
The Rangers kids were alright
A lot of fuss was made about the lines David Quinn drew up at practice on Monday. Fans were infuriated with Colin Blackwell’s promotion back up to the second line. He quickly settled if that was a good decision or not by scoring the opening goal less than two minutes in. He finished with two points on the night in 12:15 of action, but I digress.
Kaapo Kakko who was rejoined with Filip Chytil and Alexis Lafrenière actually scored on the PP. He also picked up an assist on Laffy’s sixth of the season and his 12th point in 38 games. Chytil notched two helpers himself as all three players took regular shifts and finished with over 14 minutes each. Seems like Quinn’s decision to keep them away from the opposition’s top two lines and defense pairings was a good one.
As for Vitali Kravtsov, he notched over 11 minutes and got some playing time with Ryan Strome and Panarin. The 21 year-old rookie looked more relaxed and settled in his second NHL game. He did still appear to be a half step behind as the Penguins are one of the fastest teams in the league. Patience – remember to stay patient Rangers fans.
Rangers vs Penguins post game notes
- The Rangers tallied eight goals in last night’s game, including four goals in the first period. The Blueshirts recorded at least eight goals in a game for the third time this season (Mar. 17 vs. Philadelphia – nine; Mar. 25 at Philadelphia – eight). New York has recorded eight or more goals in at least three different games in a season for the first time since the 1992-93 season (five times).
- The Rangers extended their point streak to four games, tying their season-high (3-0-1 record over the span).
- Following tonight’s game, the Rangers have posted a plus-22 goal differential this season, which is the second-best in the MassMutual NHL East Division.
- The Rangers were 3-for-3 (2:34) on the power play in tonight’s contest, and tied a single-game season-high with three power play goals.
Next Game: Thursday, Apr. 8 vs. Pittsburgh (7:00 p.m. ET – TV: MSG Network)
Notes courtesy NYR
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