They, the Senators, scored early on Cam Talbot to take a 1-0 lead but after that it was all Rangers as the big guys stepped up. Richards, PP, (13), 5 shots on goal; Nash(12), 6 shots on goal, 5 goals in 7 games; Stepan(8), 2 assists, 4 shots, 3 hits; Zuccarello(13) another third period goal, his 5th.
While the stats were close, Shots were Rangers 31-30, and hits were even at 26.
Despite these stats and the Sens trying to goon it up, Neil and Conacher, the Rangers and Talbot stood tall and it was a convincing victory. The Rangers streak is now at 6-1-1 and it was their 15th road win, tops in the East and second only to Anaheim. The Rangers are now in second place with 55 points, two ahead of the Flyers and 15 behind the Pens.
Talbot is now 10-3, made 29 saves, 16 in the third period and stood up to Conacher who tried to intimidate him. The Rangers as a team, have given up 8 goals in six games. Talbot has played six games on Saturday and is now 6-0, so I guess we could call him "Saturday's Hero." But there were other heroes. Derek Stepan, scoring his first goal in 14 games played his finest game of the year. Rick Nash continues his surge.
How good was this win?
The Rangers showed grit against a chippy team. They held a team that had been averaging over 3 goals per game. So it was an all around team effort. Strong goaltending. Timely scoring. Good defense and a willingness to stand up for each other. Tough combination to beat. Let's keep it going.
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The reason its working is simple. Our players are starting to play their rolls. Richards has been our best player and our leader this year. Of course, Callahan is the Captain and when he plays he always works his tail off but with injuries hampering him, I feel Brad has stepped up in his duties as alternate captain quite nicely. That goal Brad scored yesterday was on a sick angle and it takes a lot of talent to do that, I am just so happy with every aspect of his game. I never wanted to use a buyout on him and I certainly don't want to buy him out this season either. With Torts gone he has only gotten better and better so we may as well let him earn that huge contact now that the cuffs are off. Anyway, our top players Lundqvist, Richards and Nash are playing their part, and the supporting cast are playing their rolls as well. As Mike said, yesterday's win was a well rounded effort and now that we are seeing what players are capable of, we can better assess the needs we need to fill going forward. I like the idea of going forward and building around a core of players who can play their individual roles within a team concept instead of subtracting players who don't fit into a one way to play mold. Now if only we had the right GM for the job.
One comment on the Detroit game… Mike gave the primary reason for the win as luck and even though I agree luck was involved, I still feel it was deserved luck. The Rangers have been improving so much in recent weeks and have clearly been working hard. They played a good game and even outshot the Wings 48-38. Yeah the goal was lucky but the way those two goalies were playing only a lucky goal would go in. That's why we always say shoot the puck from anywhere because you never know what can happen and 48 shots on goal proves to me that the Rangers were doing just that. It wouldn't have been any less lucky if the result went the other way. Henrik played a hell of a game and yeah the Wings almost tied it on a shot that would have had luck involved since it was on the heels of an icing call that was BS. So I say this, Henrik was in the right place at the right time, he didn't panic and he earned that luck. Boy did he ever earn it because plenty of things have gone against him this season.
I don't want to give the little dictator the satisfaction of talking about him but it must be mentioned… Did you see his latest antics last night? Side show Tortorella only knows two moves when he's losing 1) change the lines and 2) find a way to make it all about him. Now he's added a 3rd move straight out of the book of the old Philadelphia Flyers and that is goon it up. After all he is a "tough" guy right? You don't know how to coach talent so what do you do? Water the game down by making guys block shots and fight. The guy is an embarrassment to the league. He's not professional and he's a phony. He starts all of this BS and then he points the finger at the other coach because Mr. tough guy isn't man enough to take responsibility for his own actions. the fight was two seconds into the game and 40 minutes (in real time) later, at the end of the period he's still THAT angry that he has to run into the other teams room like a raving lunatic? What an act. And people buy it too. He sends a rookie into a brawl in his first NHL game, but hey, this guy is great for the young guys right? He's toxic to the young guys, he's toxic to his team and he's toxic to the NHL. Someone please get rid of this clown already.
Jen9400-Don't get me wrong. I did not use luck negatively A little luck is part of the game and we sure have lost a few due to bad luck. And Lundqvist played that goal line save beautifully. However, you have to admit that a little harder push would have resulted in a tie game.
The ex coach. Forget it and him. Sooner or later the fans and the team will tire of his act. I see the Canucks are tied for 7th and 8th with The Wild and we will see the results when the Canucks miss the playoffs.
OK Mike, thanks for the reply.
I think I will have to take your advice on the ex coach. The idiot makes my blood boil and I really shouldn't waste another minute thinking about him. I'm just so happy he is away from our players and I feel sorry for guys who are stuck with him. I hope the NHL suspends him tomorrow.
Another 4-1 victory tonight with a little help from the Caps, especially Erat the idiot who wants to be traded but just showcased to anyone who is watching what a liability he is to his team. But the Caps woes aren't my concern- I will take the win no matter how they come. They don't all have to be pretty as Jeanine said tonight. Pretty or not, to me all of these wins that include offense and power play goals are a thing of beauty. Keep it rolling boys. There is nothing I would welcome more than to steamroll over the Islanders on Tuesday. Until then, I'm outta here- it's waaaaaaaaaaay past my bedtime.
Lets go Rangers!