Patrick Kane turned the clock, looking like the vintage number 88 as he put the dagger on the New Jersey Devils in game two, securing the win for the New York Rangers.
There was a much different feel at the start of game two between the New York Rangers and New Jersey Devils. It was evident from the jump that both teams wanted to play more physically. They were buzzing out of the gate.
They traded chances in the opening five minutes of the game, but it felt that the Devils had more jump in their game as opposed to the Rangers.
Unlike game one, the Rangers were given the first power play opportunity of the evening. After going two for three in the opening matchup, New York failed to convert on their first attempt.
Artemi Panarin rang the crossbar on a phenomenal one-timer from the left dot, the position we are used to seeing Mika Zibanejad play.
The game would settle down a bit after that man-advantage opportunity.
Niko Mikkola got sent to the penalty at the 9:46 mark of the opening frame, giving the Devils their first power play opportunity of the night.
Remember, New Jersey failed to get any shots on goal on their four attempts in the opening game of the series. However, after making some adjustments during the off day, their man-advantage unit would strike on its first attempt.
Erik Haula banged home a loose puck in the crease to give New Jersey their first lead and power-play goal of the series.
The Rangers would get a late power opportunity themselves after Nathan Bastian hit Ryan Lindgren right in the numbers.
Unfortunately for the Rangers, the teams would start the second period playing 4-on-4 after Adam Fox was called for a Roughing minor in a scrum at the end of the opening frame.
Fox was on the ice for essentially half of the first period, leading all skaters with a 9:02 TOI (time on ice) after the first 20 minutes.
The physical play would carry over to the second period, but the momentum would swing in favor of the Rangers after Vladimir Tarasenko got them on the board for the second straight game.
Tarasenko ripped one home off of a great feed from Adam Fox to tie the game at one apiece at the 5:53 mark of the period. Lindgren would be credited with an assist as well.
Tarasenko has been such an incredible addition to this team. I asked Gerard Gallant about the impact he has had on the group, to which he said "He's a character guy. I didn't know the guy when we got him. Knew of him as playing in St. Louis and winning a cup and all that, but I didn't know him personally. The guys really like him, he fits In with our group really well."
Things would continue to go in favor of the Rangers as Chris Kreider would score his third power-play goal of the series on yet another deflection. The assists would go to Patrick Kane and Mika Zibanejad.
I might sound like a broken record at this point, but Kreider would get ANOTHER power play goal, his second of the game, to give the Rangers a 3-1 lead at the 16:00 mark of the middle frame.
This tally would make Kreider the first player in NHL history to with four power-play goals through his first two games in a playoff year.
New York would ride that 3-1 lead into the final 20 minutes of play.
The Devils had started the final frame with a ton of buzz, sustaining offensive zone pressure in the Rangers' end, but an individual effort by none other than Patrick Kane, would be the dagger. It is safe to say that number 88 is fitting in quite nicely with this team. He now has one goal and three assists in the first two games of the postseason.
After many people felt that Kane didn't put on a good performance in the opening game of the playoffs, it was incredible to see this kind of individual effort.
The Rangers weren't done just yet. Kaapo Kakko would find open room in the slot area at the 13:05 mark of the third period to make it a whopping 5-1 margin.
The Devils' frustrations finally got the best of them, as Michael McLeod challenged Braden Schneider in what would be an absolutely electric tilt.
The game got very carried away toward the end. The referee's started ejecting multiple players, so much so that both benches looked like a Chelsea Pier beer league roster by the time the final buzzer went off. It got to a point where the statisticians in the press box said "There are too many penalties to announce".
Finally, what can you say about Igor Shesterkin?
He has arguably been the best goalie in the playoffs thus far after another stellar performance. Through two games thus far, he is boasting a 1.00 goals against average with a .961 save percentage along with a +1.7 goals saved above expected.
Don't forget the fact that the Devils were the fifth-highest scoring offense in the regular season, averaging 3.52 goals per game. They have only scored two goals through two games, one of which was a penalty shot.
Shesterkin has been nothing short of outstanding.
The Rangers appear to be a team that has come together at the right time, playing smart and responsible hockey. One stat that stands out in this series is giveaways. Through the first two games, the Devils have 28 giveaways and the Rangers only have nine. Puck management and puck decisions has been in favor of New York.
With all of this being said, the series is nowhere close to over. The Devils were one of the league's strongest road teams this season. They certainly have a tough challenge ahead, but a comeback isn't out of the question.
The Rangers are aware of this and know that they need to go home and take care of business in what will be a wild atmosphere at the world's most famous arena.
I asked Vincent Trocheck about his excitement for his first playoff game as a member of the home team at MSG and he said "Yea I hadn’t really thought about it. MSG is a special, special place. Playing against them last year was a phenomenal atmosphere. Expecting nothing less this year.”
Is there any place you'd rather be than Madison Square Garden on a Saturday night for playoff hockey? I don't think so.
Be loud, be rowdy, and most importantly, come hungry, because this group is going to continue to eat.