Matthew Mugno and Jonny Lazarus share their thought's from the Rangers 'Christmas Spectacular' overtime win against the Buffalo Sabres.
Matthew Mugno: For the sake of Christmas. Chris Kringle is the king of goal scor-ing. His buddy Mika is the elf. Both are heating up and that means it’s a bad day to be their opponent. Even with the team’s 23 victories, it felt like something was missing. It’s here now. 20-93-17 are baking like Santa’s cookies now. In the last 5 games, Kreider has 8 points, Zibanejad has 10 (NHL 2nd star of the week), and Blake Wheeler has 5 points.
Jonny Lazarus: I can't possibly live up to the Christmas puns that Matt has placed above this, but I've actually been quite impressed with Wheeler's game as of late, not just because he's producing. Peter Laviolette alluded to Wheeler's feet moving way more as of late, he doesn't look a step behind like he may have in the early going of the season. If the Rangers are going to make a playoff run this year, they need contributions throughout the lineup and it's great that Wheeler is becoming one of those guys.
MM: Is Will Cuylle the most physical rookie/young player for the Rangers in the last decade? He’s reaching Nick Fotiu levels of rugged play, with 82 hits and 2 fights this season.
JL: It's funny, we often receive questions like "who should the Rangers target at the trade deadline?" and the follow up always seems to be the name of a skilled, high-end player. I'm not saying Cuylle isn't that, but wouldn't it be great to add another play similar to his style. Not only does Cuylle bring that physical aspect, but he's also shown that he is capable of scoring goals. Cuylle has six of them on the season, and he is sixth on the team in even-strength goals.
MM: Igor was a monster in overtime. No. 31 needed a win where he had a major effect on the result. That’s when he’s at his best when he is involved in the game out-dueling his opponents. This is what PL stated post-game about his performance:
JL: There were certainly some moments last night where Shesterkin was left out to dry, but it was great to see him come up big in those critical moments, like he has done for years.
"He saved my a** a couple of times there in overtime. He was spectacular tonight", Vincent Trocheck said in his postgame remarks about Shesterkin.
MM: Alexis Lafreniere had a single assist, but he has been an absolute turbine on offense. Energetic, crafty, even showing off bursts of speed. Exponential growth. Another dynamic game from No.13.
JL: Lafreniere could have 20 goals this season. As frustrating as it might be that those chances aren't going in, it's great to see him getting those looks on a night-to-night basis. His skating has improved drastically as well, he looks much quicker getting up and down the ice.