Rangers Take Lightning By Storm In 4-1 Win
Following Sunday’s loss to the Boston Bruins, Rangers head coach David Quinn challenged his team’s compete level. The coach’s message got through, and the young Blueshirts responded with a 4-1 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Dan Girardi – Prior to puck drop, the Rangers honored former defenseman Dan Girardi, who recently retired from professional hockey. Girardi, who was accompanied by his family, dropped the ceremonial puck flanked by former teammates Ryan McDonagh and Chris Kreider. Girardi was a warrior for the Blueshirts, and was an integral part of those deep playoffs runs just a few years ago. Best of luck in retirement, G!
Kaapo Kakko – With the Lightning leading 1-0 in the second period, Kakko knotted the score with a powerplay goal. After the Blueshirts failed to score on their :20 5v3 advantage, Kakko took a shot that was stopped by Andrei Vasilevskiy. Fortunately for the Kakko, and the Rangers, the puck caromed off of the Tampa Bay defender and into the net. The goal was the second of the year for the second overall pick in the 2019 draft.
Filip Chytil – In his first game of the season with the big club, Filip Chytil scored the game-winning goal. Chytil was visible every time he was on the ice, going hard into the corners and playing with an edge. On the winning goal, Chytil was able to deftly redirect the pass from Pavel Buchnevich behind Vasilevskiy, who seemed to be surprised by the play. If tonight’s game was any indication, Filip Chytil won’t be seeing Hartford for a while.
Adam Fox – The icing on the cake in this one was the Long Island native scoring his first NHL goal. With Chris Kreider and Pavel Buchnevich on a 2v1, Kreider’s shot was kicked out by Vasilevskiy. The rebound came right to Fox, who made no mistake in front of the home crowd.
In addition to Fox getting his first NHL goal, his defense partner and new call-up Ryan Lindgren got his first NHL point with the secondary assist on the play. Fox and Lindgren played very well together in this one, with Marc Staal being the team’s healthy scratch.
Ryan Strome – Yes, he scored the empty netter, but Strome’s all-around game was solid in this one. The 26-year-old center had an assist on Kakko’s goal, registered a takeaway, and won 59% of his faceoffs (12/19). In the absence of Mika Zibanejad, Strome stepped up in his elevated role to help lead the Rangers to victory.
A Complete Effort – Many, including David Quinn and Henrik Lundqvist, questioned the team’s compete level after the Blueshirts dropped a 7-4 decision to the Bruins. And while there were moments on Sunday night where the Rangers just looked emotionally out of it, this game was the complete opposite. For all 60 minutes, the Rangers were aggressive on the forecheck, hard in the corners, and played that relentless style of hockey that David Quinn has been preaching since he joined the organization. Now the Rangers have to build on this effort in their next game and continue playing the right way.
Alexandar Georgiev – The Bulgarian netminder was simply fantastic in this one, stopping 29 of 30 Lightning shots, with the lone tally coming with the Rangers in the midst of an ill-timed line change. Georgiev made a couple of nice stops, including this sliding save to keep the game tied at one heading into the third. It’s looking like Georgiev will be a real solid goaltender in the NHL.
Next Game: The Rangers will head to the Music City on Saturday for an afternoon affair with the Nashville Predators. Puck drops at 2!
LETS GO RANGERS!!
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