Jonny Lazarus and Matthew Mugno share their thoughts from the Rangers third period comeback win against the Detroit Red Wings.
Jonny Lazarus: Igor Shesterkin made some big time saves keeping the Rangers in the game. Things weren't going their way and had Shesterkin let in another a third goal, it could have deflated the group and prevented a comeback.
Matthew Mugno: The Rangers won even when they couldn't capitalize on a plethora of high-danger chances.
JL: Should Peter Laviolette promote Jimmy Vesey for how well he's played? Or not touch the fourth line with how well he's playing on it? Vesey has found his game for the last two to three weeks. He continues to impress on both ends.
MM: I am in the same corner here with Jonny, but I wonder if the spread offense is more effective for this team. If you look at the Carolina Hurricanes, Martin Necas has 19 career game-winning goals and 9 career overtime goals. He played in the bottom six to open this season. Vancouver Canucks 4LW Nils Hoglander also comes to mind (7-3-10 in 21 GP).
JL: Mika Zibanejad is quietly on a five-game point streak. We know he's a streaky player, but it's good to see him finally get going. That assist to K'Andre Miller was such a poised play.
MM: He looked good, and so did the rest of the team when the game opened up. The first period had no juice. The rest of the game blew open. I think the Ranger's first-line benefits by creating in stride. Wheeler had 2 assists against the Flyers on odd-man rushes. He also had a breakaway chance last night.
JL: Alexis Lafreniere was the team's best forward in this game. His feet were moving, he was seeing the ice well and making plays happen. I was very impressed with his game, his confidence is really coming together.
MM: The former 1st overall pick has rightfully garnered a lot of attention for his play but K'Andre Miller's swag has been overlooked. He's had a few exciting post-game quotes and played well with Jacob Trouba as the top pairing in Adam Fox's absence.
JL: Artemi Panarin's creativity always amazes me. Some of the things he's able to do out there, subtly as well is just so much fun to watch.
MM: Having Lafreniere drive the play for Panarin was key to unlocking his scoring potential. He had 32 goals in 69 games in 2019-2020. He is currently on pace for 57 this season.
JL: It was great to see Adam Fox out there. PP1 got some good early looks. Unfortunately, they didn't get any opportunities in the second and third. He was a bit rusty in the second half of the game, but that's expected with the amount of time he missed.