Rangers-Hurricanes in Review

1. This game will be remembered as the battle of the shrimps. The Hurricanes’ shrimp was a little better than the Rangers’ and so the Hurricanes get the win.
2. Also, Cam Ward was better than Henrik Lundqvist. This isn’t to say Lundqvist was bad.  He was good. But it’s becoming all too common for him to be the 2nd best goaltender on any given night.
3. The Rangers, when in the Carolina zone, move the puck around freely and at will. So much for that promising Carolina defense. Nash and Vesey break in on a 2 on 2 and generate a bunch of chances, Girardi pinches in and get a good chance out of it, and eventually Faulk puts it out over the glass, sending the Rangers to the PP.
4. On the PP, more quick passing inside the zone leads to a pass from behind the goal from Zibanejad to Zuccarello at the left circle. The rebound comes to Zibanejad behind the goal who tries to bank it in off of Ward, and nearly does. But in the aftermath, Buchnevich works the puck free with his skates before being slammed into the ice and on top of Ward by Hainsey, who then laid on top of him. The puck had been kicked by Buchnvich right back to Zibanejad behind the net, who worked it back to Zuccarello who sent it above the traffic on the ice into the open net, 1-0.
5. That PP goal was their 4th consecutive game with a PP goal, and they were 5 on their last 12. Having an effective PP is such a dangerous weapon and it seems as if, for now, they finally do. A lot of credit to the Zibanejad and Pirri additions for that.
6. Then came two lengthy reviews, first to see if Zibanejad’s shot went in (it did not), then Carolina’s challenge for goaltender interference (there wasn’t). I got to fast forward through it since I was watching it on a delay, but oh man, that must have been terribly boring to watch live.
7. Just a couple of minutes later, a horrendous giveaway by Girardi almost made it 1-1. Standing flatfooted in the corner behind the goal, he passes the puck diagonally across the zone, trying to hit Vesey flying the zone on the right wing boards, easily picked off but fortunately shot high and wide.
8. Klein and Staal are much too passive on Skinner as he skates up through the middle of the ice. He gets the puck around the net and comes out in front uncontested, as neither Staal or Klein moved from behind the goal line (Klein was interfered with a little bit).  Fast was too late coming away from the front of the goal (where he was covering for Staal and Klein) to shut down Skinner, 1-1.
9. For as boring as the first period was, the second period was non-stop end to end action. Wicky must have hated it.
10. Second period, Zibanejad gets chased from a draw in the offensive zone. Buchnevich steps in and loses it clean. Klein lets Skinner get a step on him and Pesce finds him on the long pass up the middle of the ice. Skinner shields off Klein using some of his fancy figure skating footwork and beats Lundqvist with a backhand, 2-1. You try not to blame a goaltender on a breakaway, but that wasn’t a great one.
11. After that, the Rangers really took control of the period. They were all over the Hurricanes, and it was basically Cam Ward who kept the Hurricanes in the game. Zibanejad and Nash were getting a ton of chances and were unlucky not to score.
12. Then McDonagh hits Zuccarello with a bomb when Hanifin took a bad angle on his coverage. Zuccarello slips it five hole, 2-2.
13. The game then went back and forth for a while until McDonagh can’t handle a hard puck around the boards and trips Stempniak as a result. Or, I should say, gave Stempniak a chance to draw  tripping penalty as he went full extension in a dive after taking a stride with the skate McDonagh hit with his stick.  On the ensuing PP, Skinner gets a look like Pirri’s from the other night and rips a slapshot that goes in as time expires, 3-2.
14. Coincidentally, it was hat giveaway night, and so the hats rained down on the ice while the officials confirmed that the goal was scored with time on the clock. I thought how funny it would be if Skinner wasn’t actually the goal scorer.  I wonder if anybody who threw their hat wanted it back after credit for the goal was given to Bickell.
15. The period ended in a way I’ve never seen, the ice still filled with hats and the cleaning crew, and with players mixed on both sides of the red line. Why even bother dropping the puck?
16. Third period, Holden can’t find a path out of the zone with one forechecker in front of him, so he makes a terrible pass back to Skjei, which leads to the Rangers being stuck in their zone for a minute. Thus far, he is not worth the fourth rounder that was spent on him. Skjei, I should mention, had a pretty solid game, as did most of the Rangers defense, even Girardi, the aforementioned gaffe aside. Klein struggled a bit.
17. The rest of the period there was no good pressure as Carolina played chip and chase from their blue line out. The game was choppy and dull. Wicky must have loved it, although there wasn’t enough hitting or any facepunching. The Rangers only managed 7 shots over the final period after having 11 and 12 in the first two, respectively.
18. Overall, a great showing at times marred by lack of finish (too many missed nets) and the occasional defensive breakdown leading to a Skinnerific play.
19. Did you know that Marc Staal has a brother on the Hurricanes? And that they used to have two other ones as well? Great family, Sam.

 

My Three Rangers Stars:

 

• Mats Zuccarello
• Ryan McDonagh
• Mike Zibanejad