The Rangers unleashed a second period, four goal storm on the Florida Panthers that put the game away early. The only reason to watch the third period was to see if Derek Stepan could complete the hat trick. The spayed cats knew they were being out skated and totally embarrassed, so Krystofer Barch (6'1", 237lbs) took on Brandon Prust (6'0", 192lb) after the Rangers 4th goal. Barch used his extra 45 pounds to keep Prusty off balance and throw him around like a rag doll. The fight was the only highlight for the Panthers. They have to wonder if their Central Park skate on Saturday some how took their legs away. You have to go back to the Rangers' 7-0 drubbing of Philly last March, when Callahan scored 4 goals, to find a game where the Rangers looked so totally dominant.
The Rangers' power play went 2 for 3, which is incredibly outstanding, given their PP history. Gabby got the Broadway hat, which was more a recognition of his overall body of work for the last month. Stepan certainly deserved the first star and his one man end-to-end rush at the end of a 2nd period penalty kill was a thing of beauty.
The victory keeps the Rangers near the top of the conference and puts some more meat on the bone (points) to withstand their typical late winter hibernation.
Christensen got a total of 12:54 in ice time, spread over 16 shifts. That's mainly due to Torts rolling the fourth line more in the 3rd period after the win was in the bag. Christenson along with Anton Stralman also got assists on Anisimov’s power play goal. So it certainly looks like Avery will be spending more time on the shelf, or even worse, unless injuries bring him back into the mix.
Knock on wood, the team is running on all cylinders and Dallas on Tuesday looks like a target of opportunity.
Derek Stepan's end-to-end rush.
With the season Marian Gaborik is already putting together it is quite conceivable that he could have won the club's Broadway Hat honor any number of times. Yet when the hat was bestowed on him following Sunday's 6-1 victory over the Panthers at The Garden, it marked the first time this season that the Rangers' leading goal scorer donned the Broadway Hat. "It's kind of cool," said a smiling Gaborik following the game, while wearing the Broadway Hat. "It's cool to get this kind of thing going around the room, where one guy gets it and hands it to another guy after a win. It's really nice." Gaborik netted his 15th goal---a slick putback off a rebound in front of Jose Theodore at 16:53 of the second period---and also added an assist to raise his points total to 25 in 27 games played so far this season. His 15 goals now rank Gaborik tied for seventh in the NHL, just three behind league-leaders Milan Michalek and Phil Kessel, who each have scored 18.
The Rangers went from a PowerPlay efficiency of 15.7% to 17.1%, and a Penalty Killing efficiency of 85.7% to 86.7% as a result of this one game.
That is what complete domination in every aspect of the game gives (I did not check the faceoff winning percentage). It is always good to have a game where you own the other team. I will never truly relax, though, and hope the defense can continue to hold things together even missing those valuable parts Staal and Sauer.
They are doing an admirable job. The forwards need to continue helping them out the way they did last night, constantly interrupting Florida's transition.
This is certainly the high water mark for the Tortorella regime. Having a +23 advantage in goals (83 for/60 against) with the power play now showing signs of life makes him master of the domain.
As you mention, Staal and Sauer, are not even in the mix, and getting a them back certainly won't hurt the defense.
The forwards helping on defense has been a big factor. Adding in Lundqvist and Biron with their combined 2.22goals/game average just gives this team a chance to win every night. Haven't had that feeling since back in the Jaromir Jagr days.
With young guns like Hags and Stepan flying the future looks bright right now.