Since Saturday’s shocking 8–2 loss to the Buffalo Sabres, the New York Rangers have posted back-to-back wins, and now sit just two points out of a playoff spot.
Sunday’s 5-3 squeaker against the lowly Pittsburgh Penguins was hardly inspiring, but the Rangers followed that up with a more convincing 5-1 effort against the New York Islanders at UBS Arena on Tuesday.
The Islanders, of course, sit just above Pittsburgh and Buffalo at the bottom of the Eastern Conference, but with how close the Wild Card race has been, this was equally an admirable win, as it was an important one.
The Rangers’ fundamentals were solid. They generated scoring chances. They forechecked well. Their stars and depth players alike produced. And when K’Andre Miller and Adam Fox left the game with injuries, they refused to roll over. While the Islanders generated lots of chances, the Rangers did not concede any more goals. Here are three takeaways.
Pucks on net
The Rangers’ first, second, third, and fifth goals all came off of shots from distance. On each of these plays, New York moved the puck to the point, then created traffic in front of Ilya Sorokin.
It was a simple formula that minor hockey players are often taught: shoot the puck, and get big bodies in front of the net. Nevertheless, it worked and resulted in the bulk of the Rangers’ offense.
The Rangers were blessed with unlikely sources of offense. Urho Vaakanainen and Jonny Brodzinski had three points each. Vaakanainen opened the scoring 6:22 in, as Sam Carrick hit Islanders defenseman Casey Cizikas in the corner, then went to the front of the net. As Cizikas followed Carrick to the net and attempted to check him, he only added to the traffic in front of his goalie. Vaakanainen’s snap shot sailed past Sorokin’s blocker.
“I thought that they did a good job of playing a simple game,” head coach Peter Laviolette said of the Brennan Othmann–Brodzinski–Matt Rempe line, which generated three goals. “They put it behind, they get in on the forecheck, they were physical, they got pucks out to the D, they went to the net hard. Most of the goals they were on the ice for, they’re simple offense. Low to high, get to the front of the net, screens, tips, second opportunity.”
Brodzinski scored twice in the first period after the Islanders tied the game. His first of the evening, which ended up as the game-winner, deflected off of Islanders defenseman Scott Perunovich, which, combined with Rempe’s screen, made the save nearly impossible for Sorokin.
And that was how the Rangers scored five goals, even though they managed just 18 shots.
“I still think there’s some little things that we can do,” said Brodzinski. “I think one thing is putting more pucks towards the net. Sometimes we’re just being a little bit too cute. Throwing pucks at the net, they just somehow find a way, so do a little bit more of that, and I think we’ll get more scoring opportunities, more second chances and that’ll lead to more goals.”
Brodzinski’s second of the period came in the final minute. Othmann, who made his season debut Tuesday, was in the slot and waved at the puck with his stick.
Late in the second period, it was another long-range Brodzinski shot that found its way into the Islanders’ net. This time, Rempe, the formidable net-front figure, got his stick on the puck and tipped it under Sorokin’s outstretched glove.
“It’s huge when you got guys that are playing their roles,” added Brodzinski. “I think Remps had about 30 rim-outs from behind the net, and then me just finding that soft spot in the slot, he’s staying net front.”
$92 million Igor
Like the one that led to their worst loss of the season Saturday, the Rangers had another slow start Tuesday. An early giveaway by Braden Schneider was one of two turnovers in the first five minutes of the game that led to Islanders scoring chances.
The Rangers struggled to move the puck out of their zone early, and in the first 5:30 of the game were outshot 7–0. The Islanders finished with 37 shots. Only one got past Igor Shesterkin.
“I thought he was really good,” said Laviolette. “The first was, I thought it was a pretty even period. He had to make saves.”
Minus Alexander Romanov’s first-period goal to make it 1-1, Shesterkin, who finally looked like the soon-to-be highest-paid goalie in the NHL, was in position. He made two timely saves early in the second period, as the Rangers again did not start great defensively.
“The second was probably his best period,” Laviolette said. “He had to make some good ones off the rush. He had to make a couple in zone, and I thought he played really good.”
Shesterkin outdueled his fellow countryman, Sorokin, on Tuesday, as the Islanders peppered him with 28 shots over the second and third periods.
The Rangers cannot contend for the playoffs without him. One can hope that Tuesday’s game will be a step in the right direction for Shesterkin, who has struggled this season.
Where do the Rangers go from here?
A win is a win, of course. But how the Rangers got there Tuesday likely isn’t sustainable, as they stare down a schedule filled with fixtures against dynamic offensive teams like the Toronto Maple Leafs, Washington Capitals, Winnipeg Jets, and the Edmonton Oilers in the coming weeks.
For one, the Islanders, who are not an offensive powerhouse by league standards, doubled the Rangers in shots. Shesterkin bailed them out, and they finished the game with just four defensemen, but the club’s defensive liabilities have been continuously exposed this season — and hit rock bottom in Buffalo last weekend. They won’t be able to get away with chaos in their own zone against Connor McDavid or Auston Matthews.
The Rangers and the Ottawa Senators currently occupy the third and fourth spots in the Wild Card, with 62 points each. The Senators have one game in hand. The Detroit Red Wings (66 points) and the Columbus Blue Jackets (64 points) are currently in the final two playoff spots. They have each played 58 games, like the Rangers. The Red Wings, Blue Jackets, and Rangers rank in the top four of the toughest remaining schedules this season, according to Power Rankings Guru and Tankathon. The Senators have one of the easiest remaining schedules, according to the same resources.
“Everything’s about just winning games right now and points going into columns,” said Laviolette. “It really doubles down when you’re playing a team that’s somewhere near you in the standings.”
On the surface level, Tuesday’s win is an example of a rejuvenated team catching fire at the right time, backed by stellar goaltending and scoring up and down the lineup. But this is the final of a three-game stretch against the worst three teams in the conference, which began with an 8–2 embarrassment against the Sabres, the last place club, three days before.
Entering Tuesday, the Rangers were given a less than 50% chance at making the playoffs, by MoneyPuck.com and The Athletic. Though the win will turn the dial slightly in the club’s favor, they remain on the outside looking in.
The Rangers return to Madison Square Garden on Friday night for the first of three home games in four nights, as they host the Maple Leafs.
