Here are the latest rumblings around Rangerstown.

Vladislav Namestnikov

The Rangers didn’t make a lot of noise on the first day of NHL free agency, but they did re-sign C/W Vladislav Namestnikov to a two-year deal.

The Rangers are hoping that Namestnikov can regain the level of play he had while in Tampa. Granted that he was playing on the same line as Steven Stamkos and Nikita Kucherov, but he does have the talent to last in the NHL.

Fredrik Claesson

The Rangers made one UFA acquisition yesterday, signing former Senators defenseman Fredrik Claesson to a one-year deal. Claesson is a stay at home blue-liner that saw time playing alongside all-star defenseman Erik Karlsson.

This is a low-risk move by Gorton with the Rangers blue-line uncertain coming into training camp. Aside from Kevin Shattenkirk, Brady Skjei, and Marc Staal, the opening night defense corps is up in the air. Will Neal Pionk, Tony DeAngelo, or John Gilmour be able to extend their stay on Broadway? Will Brendan Smith have a good camp and get back to MSG? Time will tell, but bringing Claesson aboard gives the Rangers another NHL-level defenseman.

Rangers Alumni On The Move

There was plenty of action yesterday involving former Rangers heading to a new club for the 2018-19 season.

Michael Grabner, who the Rangers traded to the Devils at the deadline, signed a three-year contract with the Coyotes. Former Rangers teammate, and now current teammate, Derek Stepan welcomed Grabner in the most hockey way possible; by chirping him.

https://twitter.com/DerekStepan21/status/1013510871409184768

Former Rangers blue-liner John Moore signed a five-year contract with the Boston Bruins. A mobile defenseman, Moore will give the Bruins another great skating defenseman who knows how and when to jump into the play.

Adam Clendening, who spent 31 games on the ice for the Blueshirts, was signed by the Columbus Blue Jackets. Clendening’s roster spot won’t be guaranteed for John Tortorella’s club, but he could crack the opening night lineup as the team’s sixth defenseman.

Paul Carey was signed by the Senators after spending last season with the Rangers. Carey was a solid fourth-liner last-year and will bring hard work and consistency to Ottawa, even if they thought he was a defenseman.

The Penguins are bringing back Matt Cullen who, once upon a time, spent a season with the Rangers.

Aside from signing John Tavares, the Maple Leafs signed two former Rangers in Josh Jooris and Adam Cracknell. Neither player spent much time with the Blueshirts, but as they say: “once a Ranger, always a Ranger.”

Finally, the Vegas Golden Knights signed defenseman Nick Holden to a two-year deal. Holden started off well with the Rangers back in 2016, but his play declined significantly and he became an asset that needed to be moved. Vegas also brought back Brandon Pirri on a one-year deal.

In non-NHL signings, David Desharnais has signed with KHL club Lokomotiv. There had been rumors that Desharnais was heading over to the KHL when the Rangers season ended, and now it is official.

But before Gorton makes his pick, let’s see what the numerous mock drafts have to say on the subject.

NHL.com

NHL.com had writers Adam Kimelman, Mike Morreale and Guillaume Lepage gave their first-round predictions in a joint article on the NHL’s website. Both Kimelman and Morreale have the Rangers choosing Jesperi Kotkaniemi from Finland. At 6’1″ and close to 200 lbs., he has the size to be an intimidating player down the middle. As Morreale notes, Kotkaniemi had 29 points (10G, 19A) with Finnish club Ässät, and added an additional nine points (3G, 6A) while helping Finland capture the gold at the Under-18 World Juniors. Aside from the offensive statistics, Kimelman adds that Kotkaniemi was used both down the middle and on the wing, showing his versatility and high hockey IQ. Oh, and he won’t be 18-years-old until July. This would make for a very good signing with the ability to play all forward positions.

Lepage, on the other hand, chose highly touted defensive prospect Adam Boqvist from Sweden. Boqvist is a highly-skilled right-handed defenseman who can provide a ton of offense from the point. The 17-year-old tallied 24 points (14G, 10A), and five points (3G, 2A) in three playoff games for Brynäs IF in the Swedish Junior League. While that is certainly impressive, he managed just one assist playing for the Brynäs IF senior team, while accruing a plus/minus of -7. The scouting report says Boqvist still has work to do on the defensive end, which is not a great sign for a defenseman, but if he can learn quickly, he can be a staple on the blue line.

At 26, the pick the Rangers got from Boston, Morreale and Lepage have the Rangers taking defenseman Jared McIsaac from the Halifax Mooseheads in the QMJHL. McIsaac looks like a defenseman who can contribute offensively while being responsible in his own zone. As a late first-round pick, McIsaac would certainly be a good choice.

Kimelman has the Rangers taking Guelph defenseman Ryan Merkley. As you may have noticed the trend, the defenseman has superb offensive skills, notching 73 points (14G, 59A) between the regular season and playoffs. While his skills are certainly there, his draft stock has plummeted due to other issues, as Ryan Kennedy wrote about for The Hockey News. If Merkley can clean up his apparent attitude problem, he will certainly be able to give any team an offensive spark and a power play quarterback.

Finally, with the 28th pick in the first-round, all three NHL.com writers have different ideas for general manager Jeff Gorton. Adam Kimelman has the Blueshirts taking Sampo Ranta from the USHL. Ranta put up 37 points 23G, 14A) this season for Sioux City. Kimelman adds that Ranta will be heading to the University of Wisconsin next season, and that will certainly help him grow as a hockey player.

Ranta’s not huge at 6-01, 192 [pounds] but the Finnish-born wing possesses a hard and heavy shot along with excellent skating skill. He’s slated to attend the University of Wisconsin next year. UW Badgers’ assistant coach Mark Osiecki describes him as a growing ‘power forward who is strong over the puck and has a good hockey IQ.’ His recent development has seen him rise from a previous ‘B’ Central Scouting ranking to his current ‘A’.” –Kevin Wickersham/Dobber Prospects

Mike Morreale has Gorton selecting Akil Thomas from the OHL’s Niagara Ice Dogs. Thomas is a speedy centerman with high-level scoring ability. Thomas put up 81 points (22G, 59A) and averaged 1.19 points per game. Having a center that can create offense for himself and his linemates is certainly important for any team. Steve Kournianos, otherwise known as The Draft Analyst, gives a deeper scouting report on Thomas.

A thick two-way center with a deadly shot and high compete level who also can play the wing, Thomas led all OHL draft-eligible forwards in scoring with 80 points in 68 games. He is used in all situations, but he is most dangerous on the power play thanks to his keen vision and ability to pump shots through traffic. There a few players in his draft class who offer coaches the kind of versatility Thomas provides — he is used to taking big draws, kill off an important penalty or run the offense from inside the zone during late/close situations.

Thomas has good straight-line speed and average first-step quickness, but he is elusive and agile within tight spaces. Opponents find difficulty in lining up Thomas for a hit because he makes sharp directional changes and anticipates puck movement extremely well. He’s a cerebral player and an excellent stickhandler with soft hands who positions himself properly to exploit mistakes in the neutral zone. Thomas’s zone entries are calculated, meaning he identifies options beyond barreling through or around opponents. He can slow things down or pivot back in order to find trailers or cutters, and releases for the slot area immediately after connecting with a teammate. – The Draft Analyst

Last but not least, Guillaume Lepage says the Rangers should take Benoit-Olivier Groulx from the Halifax Mooseheads of the QMJHL. Groulx had 55 points centering Halifax’s top unit and is able to play in all situations. However, his skating ability – or lack thereof – have slid him down the draft boards. If teams are willing to take the forward, they will have work to do with him when it comes to his skating; but other than that, he is a guy with a lot of upsides.

TSN/Sporting News

Both Craig Button of TSN and Sporting News contributor Steve Kournianos have the Rangers selecting Oliver Wahlstrom from the USNTDP with the ninth overall pick. Button notes Wahlstrom’s “quick release, velocity, and accuracy,” which helped him to 78 points last season; half of which were goals. A right-handed sniper on the wing is something the Rangers can certainly use in their top-six, and Wahlstrom has the ability to be a game-changer with the puck on his stick.

Wahlstrom is a premier two-way power forward with a deadly shot who plays a similar fearless game as that of current Ranger Chris Kreider, albeit a step slower. He’s a powerful skater with agility that is difficult to handle in one-on-one situations, plus he has the vision and passing ability to keep goalies honest. – Sporting News

NBC Sports

Joe Haggerty of NBC Sports thinks that Evan Bouchard will be taken with the ninth overall pick. The London Knights’ captain recorded 87 points (25G, 62A) from the blue line. The consensus is that Bouchard looks like the real deal, and he can be the linchpin of the rebuilding Rangers defense.

Like Mike Morreale above, Haggerty has Akil Thomas going to the Rangers at number 26. Haggerty adds that Thomas is an excellent skater with slick hands and a dangerous shot. “The bottom line on this kid is that he’s a playmaker.”

At number 28, Haggerty shows Jeff Gorton selecting Jack McBain of the Ontario Junior Hockey League. In 52 games – regular season and playoffs – McBain scored 67 points (27G, 40A). McBain is a big kid at 6’3″ and nearly 200 lbs. and seems to have the skills to make it in the NHL. McBain will be heading to Boston College next season, the alma mater of current Rangers Chris Kreider, Kevin Hayes, and Paul Carey, where he will be able to further develop his talents.

CENTER OF ATTENTION

Chytil and Andersson will both be playing their natural center position. Allowing Chytil and Andersson to get experience at the position they were drafted and which they will be expected to contribute is most important. While there is a case to be made to allow them to get their feet wet on the wing, the Rangers need them to play center, and moving them back and forth between wing and center will only hinder their development.

MOVES

With Chytil and Andersson taking the second and third center slots, Kevin Hayes was moved to the wing on the second line with Chytil and Mats Zuccarello.In addition, Vladislav Namestnikov will be centering the fourth line with Cody McLeod and Pavel Buchnevich. The three main surprises here are Cody McLeod, Kevin Hayes, and Pavel Buchnevich. Someone was going to have to move to wing and someone was going to have to move down. With Namestikov’s overall lack of production since joining the Rangers, just three points in his 12 games on Broadway, it is understandable that he was dropped to the fourth line while allowing Kevin Hayes to remain in the top-six.

Pavel Buchnevich continues to be the guy getting the short end of the stick. However, if you take a closer look, it is not necessarily because of poor play. Jesper Fast has been tearing it up on the top line. He was not going to be sent down while playing this well. Ryan Spooner and Kevin Hayes have also been playing extremely well, producing at an elevated clip since the deadline. They deserve top line minute, and AV isn’t moving Mats Zuccarello out of the top-six. This leaves Buchnevich and Jimmy Vesey. I would prefer to see Buchnevich over Vesey, but Vesey has been scoring at a high rate over the past few weeks, highlighted by a hat trick and nearly a second hat trick since the trade deadline. Dropping Vesey would be rewarding his high production with a fourth line demotion.

Cody Mcleod is the real surprise. The Rangers have David Desharnais, Paul Carey, and Peter Holland available to play but chose to go with McLeod. McLeod is as much of an enforcer as you will find in today’s game and seems to fly in the face of the speed/depth game that the Rangers and NHL are heading. However, one could argue that a tough guy in the lineup will provide some level of protection for the prized youngsters. Personally, I believe the Rangers should have gone a different route, however, it is not as big a deal as we all think it is. At the end of the day, as Dan Rosen points out, the 12th forward is not a huge deal.

McLeod will probably see between 6-10 minutes of ice time and the remainder of his minutes will be split with a rotation of the top-nine wingers.

DON’T FREAK OUT

Regardless of how the rest of the season shakes out, the Rangers lineup will continue to change and we will continue to gripe about every detail. I am not an AV supporter, however, this is not as bad as you think. The Rangers have eleven “top-nine” forwards. Different players are going to get the short end of the stick. But at the end of the day, Chytil and Andersson’s development is of the utmost importance.

The Rangers fourth line needs some serious attention. In today’s NHL, rolling for solid lines is essential to success. Ability to skate with the puck, or being a bunch of grinders that put pressure on the other team through forecheck and body checking is what the Rangers need there. Right now, it is sorely lacking.

Carey

Paul Carey is the standout on this line. He has shown ability to score in his 57 games with the Rangers this season. He has collected six goals and helped out on seven others. Carey has been able to grind behind the net to get the puck out to a teammate and also capitalize on prime scoring chances. He should be brought back, as his contract expires at the end of this season. 

Should the Rangers be able to make the right moves at draft day, Paul Carey and Jesper Fast on a 4th line with Vinni Lettieri could be a nice unit.

Holland

Peter Holland is the only player on this line that is under contract next season. He hasn’t shown anything special and is certainly not a long term solution to the fourth line. His performance at the faceoff dot has been the biggest contribution so far, with having a winning 47.7% of draws. Holland has also scored a goal this season while being on this pitiful fourth line, so I guess that can be considered a plus.  

McLeod

Cody McLeod is a fighter and instigator, I get that, but his presence on the ice is invisible and unseen. Even when his “duty” calls and he needs to scrap, he hasn’t even been able to do that right. He has played 23 games for the Blueshirts and amassed two points. Granted he is only on the ice for eight minutes a game, but he doesn’t bring enough to remain in NY.

The rebuild is coming and on the laundry list of things for the Rangers to fix and take care of, this line needs to be on it. The fourth line gets the least amount of minutes on the team, and in that time, they must make the most of it. It is important to have your forward lines balanced, from one to four, if you want to be successful.

Looking at the current lineup, the call ups of Andersson and Chytil should bump McLeod and Holland out. Both could be worked into the game and get regular shifts on the 3rd and 4th lines to show what they can do. However, they are not 4th liners and need to be utilized properly next season. 

The way it stands now, the 4th line needs attention and must be fixed this summer.  

Here is our recap of the Rangers 4-3 loss to the Flyers.

Top Line – Whether or not you think Jesper Fast deserves to be on the top line for this current iteration of the Rangers, he has been the perfect complement to linemates Chris Kreider and Mika Zibanejad. Fast brings the never-say-die attitude to a duo of highly skilled and motivated players. This line would score all three goals in the losing effort, with each player extending their respective point streaks.

Mika Zibanejad got the Rangers on the board in the first period, tying the game after Philadelphia’s Travis Konecny gave the Flyers a 1-0 lead. Zibanejad took Jesper Fast’s pass in the neutral zone, faked a shot and then slid the puck through the legs of goaltender Alex Lyon. The goal was Zibanejad’s 26th of the season, which is a career best for the Swedish center, as well as extending his points streak to six games, and points in eight of his last ten. Mika will be this team’s number one center for the foreseeable future, and as long as he’s healthy, he will be a top point producer for the Blueshirts.

https://twitter.com/4BNYRGameday/status/976966800863891457

As for Jesper Fast, he wasn’t content with just helping out on goals and picked up a pair of tallies that brought the Rangers to within one on both goals. On his first goal, Fast won the board battle in the corner and threw the puck towards the net where it banked in off of Ivan Provorov.

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Fast got the game to 4-3 early in the third, depositing the rebound of Rob O’Gara’s shot from the half-wall. The goals were the 12th and 13th of the year for Fast, who tied his personal best year in points with 30 in the game against the Flyers. Quickie is going to be a part of this team in the coming years, and his work ethic and “never take a shift off” attitude is something that the young players entering the lineup should learn from and impart into their own games.

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Line Juggling – For everything that you can criticize Alain Vigneault for, add constant line juggling to the list. Cody McLeod played 6.7% of the game playing alongside the significantly higher-skilled Pavel Buchnevich and Ryan Spooner. Meanwhile, Vlad Namestnikov was spending time playing on the fourth line with David Desharnais and Paul Carey. If you are juggling lines early in the season to try and find chemistry between potential linemates, that’s fine. But when Cody McLeod is taking the spot of Vlad Namestnikov in a “meaningless” game with two weeks left in the season, there really is no defense for such an asinine decision.

Alexandar Georgiev – The young goaltender made some stellar saves to keep his team in the game, including this sequence in the first period with his team already trailing. Georgiev has shown he has what it takes to back up Henrik Lundqvist next season, and he did so last night with Ondrej Pavelec backing up the young Bulgarian goaltender. Unfortunately for Pavelec, he will be remembered as the guy who gave his crease to Georgiev; but with the Rangers having a bevy of young and talented netminders in the pipeline, Pavelec’s days in the Rangers sweater were numbered.

Next Game: The Rangers host the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday night in one of their final home games of the season. Puck drops at 7!

LETS GO RANGERS!!

Here is our recap of the Rangers 3-2 victory over the Edmonton Oilers.

Chris Kreider – The Rangers got off to a quick start when Chris Kreider scored the opening goal just 54 seconds into the first period. John Gilmour did a great job to keep the puck in at the blue line while back-skating into the neutral zone. The puck came right to Mika Zibanejad who feathered a soft pass to Kreider at the far post for an easy goal. The tally was Kreider’s first since coming back from his blood clot injury, despite having numerous high-quality chances since his return. The goal was his 12th of the season and we can only hope he continues to bury these “Grade-A” scoring chances.

https://twitter.com/4BNYRGameday/status/970144949672054784

Mika Zibanejad – Already with an assist in this one, Zibanejad scored a power-play goal to restore the Rangers lead in the second period. Mats Zuccarello had his shot from the point blocked in the high-slot. Pavel Buchnevich flubbed the rebound, but the puck bounced to Zibanejad who beat Talbot to the near post. The goal was the 19th of the season for the Swedish center and is third on the team in scoring.

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Paul Carey – The fourth line for the Rangers had a very good game, to say the least, totaling eight shots on net including the game-winner. David Desharnais kept the puck in at the blue line and dished to Cody McLeod. McLeod had his shot subtly redirected by Carey, and the shot squeaked through Talbot and over the goal line. When he’s been in the lineup, Carey has been a consistent worker and is the kind of bottom-six player that any coach likes. Seeing him score, especially a game-winner is an added bonus.

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Offense is the best Defense – Two consecutive games of 50+ shots against and two games of heroics from Henrik Lundqvist gave the Rangers two wins over Vancouver and Calgary. But the Rangers were finally able to sort out some of their defensive issues and held the Oilers to a “relatively small” 37 shots on net. Part of the reason for this is that the Rangers actually had a similar number of shots on the opposition’s net. It may be a novel concept to Alain Vigneault, but when you spend a lot of time in the offensive zone it prevents your opponent from getting shots of their own. The Blueshirts had 34 shots on Cam Talbot’s net and when you force your opponent into playing defense, it not only limits their chances of scoring, but it gives your goaltender some time to rest during the action.

“It felt unreal, and something like a dream,’’ Georgiev said of earning his first NHL win. “Amazing feeling, and I will remember it for my whole life.’’ – Newsday/Colin Stephenson

Alexandar Georgiev – Speaking of the man between the pipes, Alexandar Georgiev recorded his first NHL win, backstopping the Blueshirts with 35 saves. Conor McDavid snuck a shot by Georgiev that he’ll want back, and the second goal Patrick Roy wouldn’t have stopped. Other than those two blemishes, it was a very good night for the rookie goaltender.

Here is our recap of the Rangers 5-1 win over the Philadelphia Flyers.

Rick Nash – After twelve games of not scoring a single goal, you could say that Rick Nash was due to put one in the back of the net. And had he just gotten one goal it would’ve been a nice night for #61. But Nash netted a pair in the Rangers win. His first goal of the night came off of a gorgeous saucer pass from Pavel Buchnevich, springing the veteran forward on a breakaway and a short side finish to get the game tied at one.

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For an encore, Nash picked up a loose puck and came down on an odd-man rush with Jimmy Vesey. Instead of making the extra pass across the royal road, which would’ve been intercepted by the Flyers defenseman, Nash fired one past Brian Elliott to the low blocker side.

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The goals were Nash’s tenth and eleventh tallies of the season, and you can only hope this starts a trend of his shots hitting the back of the net.

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Michael Grabner – The Rangers most consistent player this season struck again for the Blueshirts, giving the team a commanding 4-1 lead in the second period. Grabner created the opportunity for himself, stealing the puck from Jakub Voracek at the blue line and beating Elliott down low for his twentieth goal of the year. Grabner has become a big part of this team and he’s someone the Rangers should look to build around in the offseason.

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Special Teams – The Rangers special teams was a big part of this victory over their division rivals. The penalty kill was a perfect 3/3, including a shorthanded goal from grinder Paul Carey. The goal came on a breakaway, with the assist coming from Peter Holland in his first game with the Blueshirts.

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The power play has started to turn things around, with JT Miller scoring the second goal of the night for the Blueshirts. The man-advantage unit has now scored twice in their last six attempts, and it was a simple play leading to their conversion against the Flyers. David Desharnais retrieves the puck along the boards, gives it to Ryan McDonagh at the point, and the captain’s shot is deflected at the top of the crease by Miller. As I’ve been saying all season long, the Rangers are at their best when they simplify their game and play straight ahead hockey, and they did that in this one.

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Complete Effort – Even if you only watched this game for ten minutes, you would’ve seen the Rangers look like a completely different team. There was communication in the defensive zone, a willingness to go in hard on the forecheck and being unafraid of the physical game. The Rangers allowed 26 shots against, their lowest since November 19th against the Senators. They recorded 29 shots on net themselves, added a whopping 30 hits, and had thirteen blocked shots. This was the kind of complete, 60-minute game that the Rangers have not had in a long, long time. And if the Blueshirts have any hopes of getting into the playoffs, they will need more games like this one as the season winds down.

“We played our best defensive game in a very long time,” Lundqvist said. “You start in your own end and take care of business there. Your breakouts are better, your speed and timing are better. We’ve been talking about it for a long time and tonight it clicked.” – Newsday/Steve Zipay

Henrik Lundqvist – The only reason the Rangers are in the position they are in now is due to King Henrik keeping his teammates in games they don’t deserve to be in. And its about time his teammates returned the favor to their All-Star goaltender. This isn’t to say that Lundqvist didn’t have to make any big saves; he did. But the Rangers controlled play for the majority of the game, kept up the forecheck while protecting the lead, and cleared the front of the net so Lundqvist could see the shots coming from the Flyers’ sticks. Lundqvist made 25 saves on 26 shots, the lone blemish coming off of a deflection from the side of the net by Jordan Weal. Lundqvist is having himself a very good season and it’s time his teammates reward him for his efforts.

Next Game: The Rangers will look to keep the momentum going on Thursday when they host the Buffalo Sabres in a Winter Classic rematch. Puck drops at 730!

LETS GO RANGERS!!

The Rangers have finally made a move and it’s not the one everyone wants. After back to back embarrassing displays and scoring only fifteen goals in the team’s last nine games, the Rangers have called up center Peter Holland, and have sent Boo Nieves back down to Hartford.

Nieves did a solid job during his stint on Broadway; anchoring the Rangers fourth line, Nieves brought size, speed, and some offense.

However, he only provided nine points (1G, 8A) in 28 games. The Rangers need more scoring and they are counting on Holland to provide that.

27-year-old old Holland has played 243 games in the NHL while scoring 81 points (35G, 46A) for Anaheim, Toronto, and Arizona including this goal against the Rangers.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PVQcBR3DE_8

This season, Holland has had a bit of a renaissance season with 33 points in 36 games, although he has done well in previous AHL seasons, averaging .81 points per game over his AHL career.

With Holland’s promotion, the Rangers are hoping that Holland can provide a spark to the Rangers anemic offense. While the blame can hardly be placed on him, with Kreider, Hayes, and McDonagh all missing time, Nieves does not provide the scoring touch the Rangers desperately need.

Even with Nieves’ demotion, I expect that we have not seen the last of him this season. Whether the Rangers are buyers or sellers at the deadline, the injury bug continues to plague them. If someone like David Desharnais or Paul Carey isn’t cutting it, Boo Nieves will be on the short list for a call-up.

Here is our recap of the Rangers 5-2 loss to the Blackhawks at MSG.

Pass-First Mentality: One of the things that have been both a blessing and a curse in the time that I’ve watched Rangers hockey is the pass-first mentality. I love that the teammates are so generous that they’ll help each other out. It warms my heart, truly, but gosh darn it – can they shoot the puck sometimes?! At one point during the 2nd period, the Blueshirts were outshot 21-7! Stop passing, start shooting. Passing isn’t going to lead to the puck in the back of the net, but sometimes, just maybe, shooting will.

The Fourth Line: It’s easy to dismiss moving players around and line formations on the premise that all four lines will play during the game. But there’s one very visible fact in the last few games that we simply cannot ignore; the fourth line has been dominating play and creating the most chances for the Rangers. Paul Carey, who many were quick to dump on, has a good eye for creating chances and burying pucks, all while playing responsible hockey. Jesper Fast, who just returned to the lineup after a quad strain, is excellent as ever on the forecheck and digging those pucks out of the corners. Boo Nieves rounds out the line and has had three points in the last three games.

And the line had a big hand in getting the Rangers on the board. They got in on the forecheck, worked the puck to the point, and screened Jeff Glass so that Nick Holden’s shot could hit the back of the net. It’s one thing when the fourth line has a good game or two; but when they are carrying the team offensively, it isn’t a good sign. Now the rest of the forward group needs to get their game going.

Henrik Lundqvist: This game is the true epitome of Lundqvist’s time in New York. He has always been the goalie standing on his head while the team around him fails to step up to the plate and bury pucks. Henrik made stellar save after stellar save, including several on 2-on-1 situations, and still had to skate away with the loss.

Power Play: The Rangers’ power play has been abysmal lately, and the trend continued against the Blackhawks as the Blueshirts went 1/6. That’s 12 minutes of man advantage time that they squandered. The one highlight of this game was Zibanejad’s rocket that straight-up beat Glass for the tying goal in the second period.

Other Notes: The Rangers have a great at-home record, but a not-so-good away record, which is a bit concerning since they have many away games coming up. This month, they will be doing a west-coast swing to visit the Golden Knights and Coyotes, followed by the Sharks, Kings, Avalanche, and Ducks. It’s a tedious schedule and they need to be at the top of their game — and quite frankly, right now they can’t even commit to playing a full 60 minutes. It’s gonna be an interesting month. Lettieri is going to be traveling to Vegas and Arizona with the team, per AV.

Here is our recap of the Rangers 3-2 OT win against the Sabres at Citi Field.

Paul Carey – Perhaps one of the biggest surprises over the last couple of weeks has been fourth-liner, Paul Carey. The Boston native has been putting in the work on the Blueshirts bottom line, and it paid off in this one. After some good work below the goal line by Boo Nieves, the puck came to Jesper Fast, who returned from injury early to play in the Winter Classic. Fast centered the puck to Carey all alone between the hash marks, and he buried it by Robin Lehner. The goal was Carey’s fifth of the season and he, along with his linemates, earned a lot of ice time as the game was winding down by the way they had played throughout the game.

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Michael Grabner – At this point last season, Michael Grabner had fourteen goals, all of which were at even strength, and he’d finish the 2016-17 campaign with 27 markers. This season, the Austrian is already at eighteen goals, all at even strength, scoring number eighteen off a beautiful feed from Kevin Hayes, who will be discussed soon. Grabner’s speed is why he is such a valuable asset for the Blueshirts, but in this game, he made his mark by hanging around the front of the net.

https://twitter.com/4BNYRGameday/status/947902012246642689

JT Miller – The Rangers needed a power-play goal in the worst way, having scored just six man-advantage goals in 57 attempts since November 15th against the Blackhawks. And this goal came at just the right time. The Blueshirts went on the power-play after Jimmy Vesey was taken down by former New Jersey Devils center Jacob Josefson. Just twenty seconds into the man-advantage, Kevin Shattenkirk snapped one towards Robin Lehner. The goaltender couldn’t control the rebound, and it fell to Miller at the top of the crease and he put the puck into the net for the win. It was just the eighth tally of the year for Miller, and with Kreider out of the lineup for the foreseeable future, #10 is going to have to step his game up even more.

https://twitter.com/4BNYRGameday/status/947938159496753153

? the J.T. winner from inside the ?! #NYR #WinterClassic #NYRClassic

A post shared by New York Rangers (@nyrangers) on Jan 1, 2018 at 3:26pm PST

On a side note, we could show you the reactions from Rangers fans, but I think this clip from former Rangers center and alternate captain Derek Stepan should do the trick.

Kevin Hayes – When I was watching the game with my family, I said that if Kevin Hayes would start shooting the puck, he could be a good hockey player. And I’ll stand by that. Time and time again we have seen Hayes pass up opportunities to shoot the puck. Instead, he looks to set up his teammates by making an extra pass or by pulling off into the corner while he stickhandles the puck.

Hayes has just seventeen points this season (9G, 8A), and for a player who will be a restricted free agent at season’s end, he is not making a very strong case for Alain Vigneault and/or Jeff Gorton to keep him on Broadway.

Discipline – The Rangers could have easily lost this game had it not been for a strong penalty kill. The Blueshirts killed 4/5 penalties, but the penalties they took were not “good penalties.” It wasn’t the trip or hook to prevent a breakaway, but it was a too many men call, and a couple offensive zone penalties. The Rangers have a strong penalty kill, but they don’t need to take unnecessary penalties to show it off.

As for physical discipline, there were only one or two skirmishes after whistles, but there was this beautiful hit by Brady Skjei on Sam Reinhart. The Blueshirts landed 27 hits in this game and had one of their most physically engaging contests of the season.

https://twitter.com/4BNYRGameday/status/947907778965884928

Henrik Lundqvist – King Henrik remained perfect in outdoor games, backstopping the Blueshirts with 31 saves against the Western New York natives. Lundqvist didn’t have to make too many difficult stops but came up large against Zemgus Girgensons to keep the game tied in the third.

Henrik improved to 18-9-4 on the season, picking up career win number 423 in this one, which ties him with Blackhawks legend Tony Esposito for eighth all time.

Next Game: The Blueshirts head back indoors on Wednesday night to face the Chicago Blackhawks at MSG. Puck drops at 8!

LETS GO RANGERS!!