Matthew Mugno and Jonny Lazarus discourse what stood out from the Ranger's convincing 4-1 victory over the L.A Kings.
The New York Rangers defeated the Los Angeles Kings 4-1 in a chippy contest at Madison Square Garden. After dropping its first set of back-to-back games to the Ottawa Senators and Washington Capitals, the Blueshiets returned home and defeated the best road team in the NHL on the back of depth scoring and Jonathan Quick. They are one win away from 20 on the season. Our takeaways:
Matthew Mugno- That Capitals game looked awfully like game 7 against New Jersey. The team hadn't played well as far back as the win in Nashville. Aside from the scoreboard, the Rangers limited chances off the rush, did not allow for second or third rebound opportunities, and didn't hand the lead away against a team that was 11-0-1 on the road before this contest.
Jonny Lazarus- To Matthew's point, I have seen a lot of discourse about whether Jonathan Quick should be the starting goalie with how well he's been playing. While it's undeniable how much he has boosted this group, if Igor Shesterkin isn't the number one guy then this team isn't winning a Stanley Cup. Shesterkin's numbers might not be as strong as we've seen them before, but he still gives the Rangers a chance to win every time that he is in that blue paint. What the team does in front of him, he has no control over. That said, if I were to pick a winner today for the Steven McDonald Extra Effort Award, Quick would be the easy vote.
MM- It's a team sport but one individual deserves a huge nod. Vincent Trocheck. Last season he seemed like an upgrade over Ryan Strome but not by a significant margin. The 30-year-old veteran could be the team's 1A/1B with Mika Zibanejad at this point, and that's no knock on No.93 who scored (again) last night.
He recorded his fourth 3-point game this season, second 3-assist game, and won 76% of his draws last night. A renaissance man. In the post-game Laviolette stated, " He's doing it all if you think about it, his faceoffs, penalty kill, defensive zone, offensive zone, power play, is out there their final seconds of a tight game. He's a good leader and a physical player. He brings the whole package."
JL: Since November 1st, Trocheck is 18th in the NHL in points (21 in 17GP) with five goals and 16 assists. Not only has Trocheck been a massive contributor on the ice, but he has been a respectable voice in the locker room, especially with the media. Trocheck has been a pleasure to talk to after every game, win or lose and he is always present to answer the difficult questions when things don't go his, or the team's way.
MM- Let's talk about Barclay Goodrow. New York Rangers head coach Peter Laviolette made it known what he means to the team, "It's also for Goody, letting him know how important he is to our team, and putting him right back out there... It was a good matchup. They probably caught 60 to 70 percent of their shifts against that line...He played a heck of a game."
Vesey, Goodrow, and Pitlick skated against Byfield, Kopitar, and Adrian Kempe. This comes a couple of weeks after locking down Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak on November 25th. No. 21 currently has 1 goal, and 3 points in 24 games this season. In his previous two years in New York, he's posted 30+ points in each campaign. The points aren't there, but his impact is valuable enough for the coaching staff to match him against top NHL talent.
JL- Barclay Goodrow is just one of the examples of how important depth is on this team. When you have guys like him, Jimmy Vesey, Will Cuylle, Jonny Brodzinski, and Nick Bonino contributing offensively, you're going to be a very dangerous team come springtime.
MM- Speaking of playoff hockey, Adam Fox took a lot of time to recover from his injury on November 2nd. He returned a month later, and last night logged 25 minutes of ice time and has 6 assists in 4 games since he came off the LTIR. With team depth performing so well, Fox (and other top players) seem quiet, but the Ranger's top players are still balling out.
JL- Personally, I am very happy for a guy like Brodzkinski who has earned every single right to be in the spot that he is in. He proved that he can pitch in offensively in a big way at the AHL level, and he is coming up big at the NHL level. I am very hopeful that he will keep his spot in this lineup, even with a fully healthy squad.
MM- 1. For fun sake, Cuylle and Trocheck connecting don't he last goal was a cool moment. Cuylle has lived with the Trocheck family since he made the team, a nice moment for the 21-year-old and his billet family.
2. Those third jerseys, were not as bad in person. Not vintage, not historic, but they looked pretty good on ice...
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