There is nothing guaranteed in life except death, taxes, and the New York Rangers’ powerplay unit scoring.
The Rangers’ extra-man advantage was credited with three goals on the night, and New York pulled away with a dominant 6-4 victory over the Anaheim Ducks.
“The way they snap the puck around, and find the open guy…they have just so much skill and talent. Just terrific plays and great shots.” head coach Gerard Gallant said after the game. “They just all fit in so well.”
Vincent Trocheck got the scoring started early on the first man-advantage on a sweet feed from Mika Zibanejad to give the Blueshirts an early 1-0 lead. Trocheck would later repay the nice pass and find Zibanejad for a second goal of the first period. Both plays came off the powerplay and showed how strong the group has been so early in the season.
“I think I’m starting to fit in a little bit better on the powerplay, getting used to these guy’s tendencies. I just have to find an opener in the middle and expect the puck.” Trocheck said after the win. “I’m getting more and more comfortable.”
New York’s powerplay moved to 5/15 on the season (33%) which would be eight percentage points higher than the team’s 25% which was fourth in hockey last season. They got early chances in Monday’s contest with Anaheim and made the young Ducks pay often.
Anaheim wouldn’t go away quietly though. After a wrist shot from former Ranger, Frank Vatrano got passed Igor Shesterkin, the Ducks would tie the game at two early in the second.
Whatever momentum the young Ducks had mustered was quickly quieted in front of the MSG crowd though. Kaapo Kakko deflected a shot from Mika Zibanejad past Ducks goaltender John Gibson to get the Rangers back in front midway through the second period.
Goals by Alexis Lafreniere and a late one from Artemi Panarin later would push the Rangers’ lead to 5-2 after two periods.
A third-period goal from Anaheim’s Max Comtois was quickly answered by Mika Zibanejad and Artemi Panarin on the powerplay to close the Rangers scoring at 6-3. New York would end the contest with four players scoring multiple points in the win (Zibanejad, Fox, Panarin, and Trocheck).
“We want to put the puck in the back of the net. I think it’s all about getting those looks and I think we’ve done a pretty good job of doing that so far.” Fox said.
New York’s next game will be back at Madison Square Garden when the Rangers battle the San Jose Sharks on Thursday. Puck drop is set for 7:00 pm – ET.
Rangers Game Notes
- The four-point performance from Artemi Panarin was the second of the year for the Rangers playmaker. Through four games, Panarin is leading the NHL in assists and has tied Rod Gilbert and Phil Goyette for the most assists through four games in team history with eight according to the Rangers Stats & Info Twitter account.
- The Kid Line did not start the game together but partially made their presence felt early and often. Kaapo Kakko scored off a deflection, and Lafreniere’s first goal of the year came off a great feed from Filip Chytil.
- Ryan Carpenter and Vitali Kravtsov were listed as “day-to-day” by head coach Gerard Gallant before Monday’s game. Kravtsov has been dealing with an upper-body injury he suffered in the first period of the season opener, while Carpenter was dealing with a laceration on his face from a play in the Rangers’ 4-1 loss to Winnipeg on Friday.
- Sammy Blais returned to the ice for the first time in over a year after suffering a torn ACL in November of last season. Blais was credited with a couple of hits and even drew a penalty in Monday’s win.
- The Ranger faithful had standing ovations for the return of both Ryan Strome and Frank Vatrano during the first period of Monday’s game. Strome and Vatrano signed long-term deals with the Ducks in the off-season after a strong playoff showing last year for the Blueshirts.
