Of course, there can only be one winner, and that’s Canada, still the team to beat in best-on-best international play. And it was Connor McDavid with his signature moment on the big stage that capped a simply terrific night for the sport when he scored 8:18 into overtime, lifting Canada to a thrilling 3-2 victory.

The tournament was amazing theater filled with great hockey by the best players in the world. It’s a tasty appetizer for the NHL as the League prepares to participate in the 2026 Milan Olympics.

Now, it’s time to turn the page. Quickly. And get back to the stretch run of the NHL season, where there’s a pretty wild chase for the final two playoff spots in the Eastern Conference. The New York Rangers know all about that, sitting 11th in the East, three points out of the second wild card.

But there’s a stiff price to be paid from the 4 Nations Face-Off.

That playoff race could be somewhat compromised, as could the long-term chances for serious Stanley Cup contenders. Emily Kaplan of ESPN reported Thursday night that there were many players grinding through the 4 Nations Final with injuries that could keep them out of the lineup with their respective NHL teams moving forward.

We already know about Matthew Tkachuk, who was unable to finish the championship game with an unspecified injury. Auston Matthews was playing through an upper-body injury. Brady Tkachuk had a lower-body issue. Then there’s Charlie McAvoy, who’s possibly out the rest of the season following a shoulder injury and subsequent surgery for an infection. Shea Theodore is week to week after he was hurt in the first game of the tournament.

How about Vincent Trocheck of the Rangers? He appeared to injure his hand/wrist in the 2-1 loss to Sweden on Monday. Trocheck played against Canada but was largely ineffective. The tell-tale sign could be that he only took four face-offs — his specialty — and lost each one Thursday. He logged just 10 minutes of ice time.

Let’s see where it all settles when the four Rangers from Team USA rejoin their NHL teammates in Buffalo. The Rangers resume their season Saturday in Buffalo against the Sabres with a quick follow Sunday in Pittsburgh against the Penguins.

As coach Peter Laviolette said Thursday, “It comes at you fast.” Twenty-seven games may sound like a lot, but they’ll be gone before you know it — and the Rangers hope to be among the eight teams still standing in the East when the Stanley Cup Playoffs begin in April.

Subscribe to the Rink Rap podcast at the Forever Blueshirts YouTube page

New York Rangers news

After the morning skate Thursday, President Trump spoke with Team USA and wished them well in their game against Canada. Rangers forward J.T. Miller was among those thrilled to hear from the President of the United States.

Rangers defenseman Adam Fox said prior to the game that the 4 Nations Face-Off championship contest was “the biggest game I’ve been a part of.”

Back in New York, Igor Shesterkin participated in an entire practice and should be good to go for the Rangers this weekend after sustaining an upper-body injury Feb. 7.

The Rink Rap podcast is posted with this week’s special guest, former Rangers general manager Neil Smith. You can watch the entire interview on YouTube or listen to the audio here.

NHL news

Nathan MacKinnon opened the scoring for Canada in the 4 Nations Face-Off championship game and was named MVP of the tournament after pacing all skaters with four goals in four games.

There could have been a different result in that 4 Nations final if not for the brilliant play of Canada goalie Jordan Binnington, who made three sensational saves against Matthews and one on Brady Tkachuk in overtime, when he stopped all six shots he faced before McDavid’s heroics.

Canada forward Brad Marchand, one of the all-time pests in NHL history, called out the Tkachuk brothers postgame for shooting their mouths off to the media prior to the championship clash — “they got a little bit ahead of themselves.”

The Calgary Flames placed defenseman Tyson Barrie on waivers.

Max Pacioretty is likely out this weekend for the Toronto Maple Leafs after tweaking something in practice Wednesday.

Mikko Rantanen just may be the most attractive player available on the free-agent market this offseason. Here’s a breakdown from the former Carolina Hurricanes capologist as to what his next deal could look like.

Frank Seravalli reports that teams aren’t breaking down the Chicago Blackhawks door to trade for expensive defenseman Seth Jones, despite Chicago’s desire to move him.

With Ryan Pulock set to return from injury this weekend, the Islanders placed defenseman Dennis Cholowski on waivers.

Vaakanainen, acquired by the Rangers on Dec. 6 in a trade that sent Jacob Trouba to the Anaheim Ducks, was minus-3 in just 11:14 of ice time, beginning with the game’s first goal by Connor McDavid 4:13 after the opening face-off.

NHL scoring leader Nathan MacKinnon made it 2-0 just 46 seconds after McDavid’s goal and added another goal early in the second period for a 4-0 lead. Canada survived a late three-goal surge by Finland and advanced to the final on Thursday against the United States.

“It got a little scary at the end,” MacKinnon, named the Player of the Game, admitted on TNT.

The title game will be a rematch of Canada’s 3-1 loss to the Americans in Montreal on Saturday. That win assured the U.S. of a berth in the final regardless of what happens in its game against Sweden on Monday night. Vaakanainen’s Rangers teammate Chris Kreider will make his first appearance of the tournament in that game. Kreider replaces Matthew Tkachuk, who has a lower-body injury.

Vaakanainen and third-pairing partner Nikolas Matinpalo, a rookie defenseman with the Ottawa Senators, each had a game he’d like to forget. They were on the ice for two of Canada’s three goals in the first period, as well as MacKinnon’s second of the afternoon at 5:03 of the second.

46 SECONDS LATER, IT'S 2-0 CANADA! 🤯 #4Nations

🇺🇸: @NHL_on_TNT & @SportsonMax ➡️ https://t.co/4TuyIATi3T
🇨🇦: @Sportsnet or stream on Sportsnet+ ➡️ https://t.co/4KjbdjVctF pic.twitter.com/0ICbFsnopK

— NHL (@NHL) February 17, 2025

That goal spelled the end of the afternoon for Kevin Lankinen, the Finnish goaltender who got the win Saturday in a 4-3 overtime victory against Sweden. He allowed four goals on 13 shots and looked little like the goalie who’ s helped save the Vancouver Canucks’ season while starter Thatcher Demko battled injuries.

Jordan Binnington made his third start in as many games for Canada, finishing with 23 saves. He lost his shutout with 6:41 remaining in the third period on a goal by Esa Lindell, and the Finns made it close on two sixth-attacker goals by Mikael Granlund before Sidney Crosby hit the empty net with 56 seconds remaining.

Related: Ryan Lindgren decision, Rangers options on defense ahead of NHL Trade Deadline

Canada 5 – Finland 3

Finland actually got off to a decent start, mounting some pressure on Binnington in the first couple of minutes before things fell apart.

McDavid opened the scoring with his second of the tournament. Finnish center Roope Hintz made an awful clearing pass that McDavid picked off just inside the blue line. Vaakanainen had a good view as McDavid toyed with his partner and was given loads of time and space to cut in from the left boards before whipping a shot from the circle past Lankinen.

MacKinnon doubled the lead at 4:59 after a slick play by Sam Reinhart just inside Finland’s zone. His little chip pass sprung MacKinnon into open space inside the right circle, and the Colorado Avalanche star was left alone to beat Lankinen from the lower right circle.

The Vaakanainen-Matinpalo was victimized again at 13:02, when Canada made it 3-0 on a goal by Brayden Point. McDavid raced down the right wing and fed defenseman Travis Sanheim, who was coming down the middle. Lankinen stopped Sanheim’s shot but was left helpless when the rebound came right to Point for an easy putaway.

BRAYDEN POINT 🚨

Canada is firing on all cylinders right now! #4Nations

🇺🇸: @NHL_On_TNT & @SportsonMax ➡️ https://t.co/4TuyIATi3T
🇨🇦: @Sportsnet or stream on Sportsnet+ ➡️ https://t.co/4KjbdjVctF pic.twitter.com/Yju3OnivVg

— NHL (@NHL) February 17, 2025

Canada continued its dominance through the remainder of the period, outshooting Finland 11-5.

The Nova Scotia duo of MacKinnon and Crosby combined to make it 4-0 just after the five-minute mark in the middle period. Crosby controlled the puck in the corner to the left of Lankinen and threaded a pass to MacKinnon, who had found a small gap in the defensive coverage. MacKinnon one-timed the pass behind a helpless Lankinen; Vaakanainen slammed his stick against the boards while Canada celebrated.

Sidney Crosby ➡️ Nathan MacKinnon 😍 #4Nations https://t.co/g3nK6X2AO8 pic.twitter.com/mKOMosnysM

— NHL (@NHL) February 17, 2025

Juuse Saros, the losing goaltender in Finland’s 6-1 loss to the United States on Thursday in Montreal, replaced Lankinen. It didn’t help.

Finland got the game’s first power play when Devon Toews was sent off for slashing Finland’s Joel Armia but managed just one shot on goal. Former Rangers forward Kaapo Kakko, who was traded to the Seattle Kraken just before Christmas, was denied twice from close-in just after the power play ended.

Lindell got the Finns on the board at 13:19 of the third, beating Binnington with a shot from the right circle that caught the far corner. Finland pulled Saros for an extra skater with more than four minutes left and made it close when Granlund, the OT hero against Sweden, beat Binnington with 1:40 remaining and again with 1:17 to play.

But Crosby’s empty-netter from the red line, his first goal of the tournament, eased any anxious nerves among Canadian fans and sent Canada into the championship game.

The New York Rangers center was robbed by goaltender Jordan Binnington 1:55 into the extra period on a one-timer from the left circle that would have given Sweden a come-from-behind victory. Marner then scored at 6:06 of OT to give Canada a 4-3 win in the tournament opener, spoiling Sweden’s comeback from a pair of two-goal deficits.

“We did a good job working ourselves back into the game,” Zibanejad said. “Overtime could have gone both ways.”

Sidney Crosby, the game’s First Star, got his third primary assist of the night when he fed Marner, who raced into the offensive zone and ripped a high shot from the right of the slot through an inadvertent screen by Swedish defenseman Erik Karlsson that beat Filip Gustavsson for the win.

“He’s amazing. He’s just ageless. It’s a credit to him,” Connor McDavid said of Crosby. “It’s a credit to how much he puts into it his work ethic, credit to how he takes care of himself and credit to how smart he is out there. He just gets it done time and time again, and he did that again tonight.”

Canada has won 26 consecutive games in international competition with Crosby in the lineup.

AN ABSOLUTE ELECTRIC #4Nations OPENER! 🙌

Mitch Marner scores the @SUBWAYCanada OT winner for Canada. pic.twitter.com/PTTYLar7BV

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) February 13, 2025

Scoring the overtime winner on an assist from his boyhood idol was special for Marner.

“You tell 13-year-old Mitch that he scored an overtime goal assisted by Sidney Crosby, the guy he looked up to since day one, it’s pretty crazy,” he said. “I really just tried to enjoy the moment after. The building was rocking, and it was nice to have them cheering for me instead of against me.”

Crosby also set up goals by Nathan MacKinnon in the first period and Mark Stone in the second. Brad Marchand, who fueled Canada’s World Cup win nine years ago with a tournament-leading five goals, scored the other goal.

“As someone who loves to play in environments like that, I grew up a Montreal Canadiens fan, and to have an ovation like that here was really special and something I’ll always remember,” Crosby said.

Binnington made 23 saves, allowing goals by Jonas Brodin in the second period and Adrian Kempe and Joel Eriksson Ek in the third. Gustavsson finished with 24 saves, including seven in overtime.

Canada lost defenseman Shea Theodore early in the second period with an upper-body injury, and coach Jon Cooper said after the game that Theodore will miss the rest of the tournament, which ends Feb. 20.

Zibanejad finished the game minus-1 and had two shots on goal in 20:01 of ice time. He had one takeaway and was 12-10 on face-offs — no other Swedish center was over .500 on draws.

“I think toward the end of the first (period) and from then on, we started playing a little bit more,” Zibanejad said. “We could have won this game.”

Having to go into the 10-minute overtime before winning means Canada got two points for the victory, instead of three. Sweden got one point.

Each team will have two days off before playing its biggest rival. Sweden faces Finland on Saturday afternoon, while Canada and the United States square off Saturday night. The Americans, featuring four Rangers — defenseman Adam Fox and forwards J.T. Miller, Chris Kreider and Vincent Trocheck — play Finland in their first game Thursday night.

Related: Former Rangers captain believes Jacob Trouba was ‘spiritual leader’ before trade to Ducks

Canada 4 – Sweden 3 (OT)

Zibanejad was in the starting lineup, centering a line with Rickard Rakell and William Nylander, and won the opening face-off. But he had already gone off for a line change when Nylander was called for high-sticking MacKinnon 44 seconds into the game.

That brought out Canada’s No. 1 power-play unit, which needed just 12 seconds to open the scoring. McDavid fed Crosby at the goal line to the left of Gustavsson, and Crosby’s backhand pass across the top of the crease found MacKinnon. The NHL leading scorer wasted no time snapping it into the net for a 1-0 lead.

“We get a penalty on the first shift and they score, what, 15 seconds into the power play,” Zibanejad said. “The building gets going and they get a second goal.”

The Canadians dominated play and had not allowed a shot on goal before Marchand scored at 13:15 to make it 2-0.

Seth Jarvis’ pass sprung Brayden Point and Marchand on a 2-on-1 break. Point found a wide-open Marchand in the lower left circle, and he hit the half-empty net for a 2-0 lead.

Brad Marchand in Montreal! 🇨🇦

Canada leads 2-0! #4Nations

🇺🇸: @NHL_On_TNT & @SportsonMax ➡️ https://t.co/4TuyIATi3T
🇨🇦: @Sportsnet or stream on Sportsnet+ ➡️ https://t.co/4KjbdjVctF pic.twitter.com/1OeWbNgQN7

— NHL (@NHL) February 13, 2025

Marchand admitted during a between-periods interview with TNT that “I heard a few boos” amid the cheers after the goal but added that “It’s incredible the way the fans rally behind Canada.” The Boston Bruins captain has heard his share of boos at Bell Centre over the years, playing for one of the Montreal Canadiens’ biggest rivals.

Canada had the first seven shots of the game before the Swedes finally got their first shot at 13:49 when Nylander got off a backhander that Binnington had no trouble with. They had the final three shots on goal in the period, none of which was dangerous.

“We had an awesome start,” Stone told TNT.

The Swedes finally began to find their game as the second period neared the midway point and cut the deficit to 2-1 at 9:33.

Jonas Brodin scored Sweden’s opening goal while making his debut at an NHL International Tournament. #4Nations

Tune in on @NHL_On_TNT, @SportsonMax, truTV, @Sportsnet and @TVASports. #NHLStats: https://t.co/fAVu10HCM6 pic.twitter.com/129wkho3Tu

— NHL Public Relations (@NHLPR) February 13, 2025

Brodin, who has four goals in 34 games for the Minnesota Wild this season and only recently returned to the lineup after missing four weeks with a lower-body injury, let go a bad-angled shot from near the right boards. With Rakell screening Binnington, the shot went over the goaltender’s shoulder and just under the crossbar.

Swedish defenseman Rasmus Dahlin saved a goal 3 1/2 minutes later by beating MacKinnon to a loose puck in the crease after a chop shot by Crosby leaked through Gustavsson.

But Crosby got his second assist of the night when he did most of the work on Stone’s goal at 17:28. With Zibanejad on the ice and Sweden pressing for the tying goal, Crosby picked up a miss by Mattias Ekholm and raced up the right wing. He muscled away defenseman Gustav Forsling in the lower right circle long enough to find Stone, who was flying down the middle and one-timed No. 87’s pass behind Gustavsson for a 3-1 lead.

He's just so good at protecting the puck 😳 #4Nations https://t.co/Ie6mX8CBpm pic.twitter.com/cjL6u4Iiy7

— NHL (@NHL) February 13, 2025

Sweden got back within a goal 1:54 into the third period when Kempe backed off his Los Angeles Kings teammate, defenseman Drew Doughty, and created enough room to snap a shot past Binnington from between the circles.

Eriksson Ek got the Swedes even at 8:59, finishing a nice passing play with Lucas Raymond and Jesper Bratt, who faked a shot and fed the Minnesota center for a flip shot over Binnington and a 3-3 tie.

JOEL ERIKSSON EK TIES THE GAME FOR SWEDEN! 👀 #4Nations 

Catch all the action on Sportsnet! 📺 pic.twitter.com/56Nre5MnDY

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) February 13, 2025

Gustavsson saved the day for Sweden with just under nine minutes remaining when he got his blocker on a shot from the slot by Devon Toews, who was alone in the slot and appeared to have a half-empty net to shoot at.

Now, let’s clarify something here. Shesterkin is still pretty darn good in the shootout. Last season, he had a solid .727 save percentage in the shootout. And that number was .741 when he won the Vezina Trophy as the top NHL goalie in 2021-22.

And let’s not forget his performance in the 2024 NHL All-Star Game. He finished second to former Rangers teammate Alexandar Georgiev in the One-On-One Challenge during the skills competition. Shesterkin stopped seven of 11 breakaway attempts by Islanders star Mathew Barzal.

Then Shesterkin helped Team Matthews win the All-Star Game tournament the following day by stopping all four shooters in a shootout win. The group he shut out included Kyle Connor, Nikita Kucherov, Elias Pettersson and J.T. Miller. Not bad.

“Most important, I stopped Kucherov,” joked Shesterkin about his countryman. “After that, I just tried to stop the puck again.”

IGOR SAYS NO IN THE SHOOTOUT AND TEAM BLUESHIRTS MOVES ON. pic.twitter.com/jKEEnVAa44

— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) February 3, 2024

Shesterkin’s heroics that day didn’t surprise his Rangers teammate Vincent Trocheck, who also played for Team Matthews.

“I mean I get to see it all the time,” Trocheck said. “But it was cool to be on the bench with the guys and [hear] ‘Oh my God!’ over his saves. I mean, he made some insane saves today. As we all know, he does that day-in and day-out in New York. So, it was cool to see here.”

Related: Igor Shesterkin named best goalie by NHL Network

Rangers’ Igor Shesterkin lists 3 most difficult players to face in shootout

Among current goalies in the NHL, Shesterkin ranks 16th in shootout save percentage. Linus Ullmark of the Ottawa Senators, who won the Vezina Trophy in 2023 with the Boston Bruins, has a career mark of .818 in the shootout with 54 saves on 66 shots. Vancouver Canucks goalie Thatcher Demko is right behind at .816 (40 of 49 shots saved).

Two-time Stanley Cup champion Andrei Valsilevskiy of the Tampa Bay Lightning is third at .791. He’s won 22 of 29 shootouts in his career.

Among those goalies ahead of Shesterkin, they range from Jake Oettinger (Dallas Stars) and Juuse Saros (Nashville Predators) to Petr Mrazek (Chicago Blackhawks) and Elvis Merzlikins (Columbus Blue Jackets). Shesterkin has a 10-8 record all-time in shootouts, stopping 52 of 73 attempts.

Recently, the 28-year-old who can be an unrestricted free agent after the 2024-25 season, was asked which three players are the most difficult for him in the shootout. Shesterkin selected a future Hall of Famer as his first choice.

“Well, it comes to my mind, there are a lot of players that scored (against) me. So, it’s hard to choose only three,” Shesterkin said in a transcribed video from his native Russia. “I’m gonna start with [Sidney] Crosby because he can always make difficult moves that are very hard to anticipate.”

Shesterkin then named Jack Hughes of the New Jersey Devils and Nathan MacKinnon, the reigning Hart Trophy winner as NHL MVP from the Colorado Avalanche.

Igor Shesterkin picks the three players whose shots are hardest for him to repel (Eng sub) pic.twitter.com/lebqxhW4Uz

— Uggg (@Uggg_uggg) August 8, 2024

As for Kucherov, who he was so proud of stopping in the All-Star Game shootout, Shesterkin had higher accolades.

Asked to “not say a word until you hear the name of the best (Russia-born) hockey player,” Shesterkin was mute until the Lightning forward’s name was mentioned. The goalie remained quiet even when his Rangers teammate Artemi Panarin and future Hall of Famer Alex Ovechkin were mentioned. He said, “cut!” when Kucherov’s name was announced.

Igor Shesterkin on “Don't say a word until you hear the name of the best hockey player” pic.twitter.com/hvcvs61EYb

— Uggg (@Uggg_uggg) August 6, 2024

Shesterkin is readying himself for his sixth season with the Rangers. Reportedly, his camp is seeking a long-term contract that would make him the highest-paid goalie in NHL history, surpassing Carey Price’s $10.5 million annual salary. That ask might be as high as 14 percent of the salary cap to start, so roughly close to $13 million per season.

After his amazing playoff run this past spring, Shesterkin is in line to seek a massive payday. When a deal gets done is the biggest question, though the Rangers can sign Shesterkin immediately to an extension, if the sides work things out.

NHL Roundup: MacKinnon food police

Newly acquired Calgary Flames defenseman, Nikita Zadorov played for the Chicago Blackhawks last season. Before that, he was a member of the Avalanche for five years. That’s where he saw up close and personal the competitor that Nathan MacKinnon is in Colorado.

In a recent interview in Russia, he discussed just how crazy Nathan MacKinnon is when it comes to nutrition, fitness, and how that ties into winning.

“He’s crazy like that, he eats well. He doesn’t drink either. He only drinks water,” Zadorov said. “Two years ago in Colorado, he got rid of all the desserts he could. He also removed them from the locker room and pre-game meals. He had the white sauce (carbonara) removed from the menu when eating pasta. He even replaced regular pasta with chickpea pasta so we would eat more protein.”

Read the Full Story HERE.

Marc-Andre Fleury explains his decision to play for the Blackhawks

Fleury is certainly ready to go for next season as he sent a message directly to Blackhawks fans on social media. “Hey Chicago, it’s Marc,” he said stepping off the plane. “I just want to let you know I’m in. Let’s get to work.”

However; immediately after the trade from Vegas, he wasn’t sure if he would play.

“There’s a lot that goes into [the decision],” Fleury said Wednesday via NHL.com. “I was very fortunate that they gave me some time to reflect on what I wanted to do, what was best for me and my family.”

“I never had anything against Chicago, the organization,” he explained. “It was just me personally. I’ve talked to a bunch of guys and I keep hearing so many great things about the team, how they treat players and families. I thought Stan did a great job to gain some players over the summer, trying to make this team competitive right away, and that’s also very appealing.”

Salary Cap projected to go up in 2022-23

There appears to be some good news on the salary cap front for many NHL teams. According to a report from Frank Seravalli, the cap may rise for the 2022-23 season.

The NHL is is projecting revenue this season to be close to $5 billion. That is leading to optimism that the cap ceiling will climb from $81.5 million to $82.5 million for the 2022-23 campaign. The NHL is entering its third season under the flat-cap caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Yesterday’s key signings

The New Jersey Devils signed free agent forward Tomas Tatar to two-year, $9 million contract on Thursday. His AAV will be $4.5 million.

The Devils earlier announced the re-signing of restricted free agent forward Yegor Sharangovich to a two-year, $4 million deal.

Ottawa Senators and defenseman Victor Mete avoided arbitration, agreeing Wednesday to a one-year. $1.2 million deal.

Nashville Predators re-signed defenseman Dante Fabbro to a two-year, $4.8 million contract on Thursday.

The Pittsburgh Penguins avoided arbitration with center Zach Aston-Reese, signing him to a one-year, $1.725 million contract Thursday.

-Field Level Media contributed to this article

Superstar Recruiting

In a recent radio interview, Avs superstar, Nathan MacKinnon opened up on how he tried to lure Artemi Panarin to Colorado. It went so far as to even offering his spot on the PP.

MacKinnon said Tuesday said on TSN 1050’s “Overdrive” that he tried to recruit Panarin to the Colorado Avalanche last summer before he eventually chose to go to the Big Apple. MacKinnon tried to sell him on the idea he wouldn’t have to be “the man” every night, and he even offered Panarin his spot on the power play.

The Score

MVP Honors

MacKinnon who finished this shortened season with 93 points, two less than Panarin is in the mix for the Hart Trophy as NHL MVP. However if you ask him, he knows who should win it.

“I knew he was a free agent so I was kind of watching him with Columbus. What an amazing player,” MacKinnon said. “And then I watched him all season – just from talking to him, really nice guy, so maybe I’m a little biased with that – but that’s why I think he should win the Hart this year.”

The Score

The majority of hockey experts believe that Edmonton’s Leon Draisaitl will take home the honors. Draisaitl put up 110 points and was the only player at the pause to break the century mark. Of course, the award is not all about points but importance to team. Draisaitl plays with Connor McDavid and while Panarin has talent like Mika Zibanejad around him, it’s undeniable that he was the MVP of the Rangers this season.

Rangers head coach David Quinn has his coaching staff in place!

Quinn has worked with both of these men in the past. He was in the Avalanche organization with Oliver, who was in the team’s front office, and Brown was an assistant at Boston College where he ran the team’s defense and special teams. Oliver has worked with the young guns in the Avalanche organization since 2007 and has helped mold the talents of current and former Avalanche talents including Gabriel Landeskog, Nathan MacKinnon, Matt Duchene, Tyson Barrie, Ryan O’Reilly, Semyon Varlamov, and current Rangers defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk to name a few. Both Oliver and Brown are in the mindset of the “new NHL,” where speed and skill are paramount to a team’s success. The Rangers are in a situation where they must develop their young talents while trying to stay competitive. And from the looks of things, Jeff Gorton has hired the right men to do the job.

As had been reported earlier, Lindy Ruff is remaining with the team, joining both Brown and Oliver on Quinn’s side. The role that Ruff will have is unclear as of now, but it won’t hurt to have a long-time NHL coach alongside this young coaching staff.

Editor’s Note: For an in-depth look at Brown, click here.

Well it definitely wasn’t the most entertaining game of the season, in fact I would say that other than the Devils game, this was the worst for the Rangers thus far. The team got off to a sloppy start and besides for a 21 second span in the 2nd period, never really found their legs. An old coach told me once, “you can never criticize a win, just pack your bag and get ready to play again another day.” For the Rangers they’ll have to get ready for a trip to Arizona tomorrow night.

1st Period:

https://twitter.com/BryanWojtanik/status/662818378617344000

2nd Period:

https://twitter.com/BryanWojtanik/status/662834246336270337

and 21 seconds later….

https://twitter.com/BryanWojtanik/status/662834728228253696

Oscar Lindberg continues his unbelievable season as he is currently tied of the league lead in even strength goals, can you say Calder trophy?

3rd Period:

https://twitter.com/BryanWojtanik/status/662845162293436418

https://twitter.com/BryanWojtanik/status/662850883206709248

The Rangers didn’t convert on the empty net goal there, and Zucc buddy I love you to death, but you gotta fire that puck home. No need to try to make the cute passing play every time, just send that puck to the moon.

Rangers Win 2-1

4 game win streak, 6-0-2 in last 8 games.

3 Stars of the Game:

The Rangers will be back in action tomorrow night against the Arizona Coyotes.

*Infographics via ESPN