Rangers Special Teams leads Victory Charge over Devils

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Kakko (Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

In a matinée rivalry showdown against the New Jersey Devils, the New York Rangers out-hustled and out-scored their opponent to secure a well-deserved 4-0 victory and their fourth win in their last five games. Rangers netminder, Alexander Georgiev made 33 saves in net to record his first shut out of the season.

The Rangers came out buzzing in the first period and would take an early lead on a power play goal by Adam Fox, assisted by Jacob Trouba and Kaapo Kakko. Fox has been the most notable Rangers rookie thus far, with 5 goals and a total of 14 points in 25 games. The 21-year-old is second among all NHL rookie defensemen in points this season. 

This was a game of special teams for the Rangers as they were short-handed for at least a quarter of the game and didn’t allow a power play goal as the Devils went 0-8 on the power play. Not only did the Rangers PK unit stifle every Devils power play opportunity, but the Rangers notched two short-handed goals in the third period to cushion their lead to 3-0.

In his third game since returning from an upper-body injury after missing 13 games in a row, Mika Zibanejad recorded his second short-handed goal of the season, assisted by Brendan Lemieux at 2:35 in the third period. Soon after, Zibanejad would be involved in yet another short-handed goal, joining Jacob Trouba on the assists to Jesper Fast’s third goal of the season. After today’s performance, the Rangers now lead the NHL in most short-handed goals this season, with a total of 6.

Brady Skjei finished off the Rangers win, scoring an empty-netter in the final minutes of play to secure the Rangers 4-0 victory over their Metro Division rivals.

It’s been a season of ups and downs for this young Rangers team thus far, but this past week has seemed to ignite a spark in the team that has them now sitting at a 13-9-3 record on the season. If the Rangers can continue to pull out gutsy wins over their opponents, they could soon find themselves in the playoff picture.

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