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The Rangers, in their first real test of the season, defeated the Maple Leafs 5-1 in Toronto on Saturday. Igor Shesterkin put on a show, stopping 34 of 35 shots, and was especially brilliant late in the first and the entire second period. Chris Kreider netted a pair while his line had their best game of the season, one on a delayed penalty and one into an empty-net to seal the win, and Artemi Panarin extended his scoring streak to five with a late empty net goal. New York remains in Canada to face Montreal on Tuesday.
Scratches: Brodzinski, Jones
LTIR: Vesey (lower-body)
IR: Lindgren (upper-body)
A few thoughts:
1) Offense: through five games, 24 goals. Panarin has six, Kreider has five, Alexis Lafreniere has three, Vincent Trocheck has a pair and then eight players with one. that shows balance but also that the elite skaters can carry the offense when needed. The good news - at least in my view - is that they can be even better.
Kreider-Mika Zibanejad-Reilly Smith are building chemistry. That trio had their best contest of the season yesterday. Smith seems to be settling in more and more with his linemates while Mika has been better the past few games. We know how good Kreider is, making that line a threat as well.
No words are really needed for the Panarin-Trocheck-Laf line. What you can say is Laf has continued his growth as a leader. This quick interview is further evidence of that. The narrative on Panarin will be how he produces in the playoffs. I am tabling that for several more months as it's a future discussion item.
"We had a nice run last year and we're working to have a longer one this year."
What has been the most hopeful is the third line. If - and we know it's a big if - Filip Chytil can stay healthy, that trio can be a weapon. Will Cuylle was expected by many, including me, to take a material step forward this season. Five games in, that certainly has been the case. Evidence of this was yesterday. with New York up 3-1 after the empty net goal and 50 or so seconds left, coach Peter Laviolette put Cuylle on the ice. His defensive play helped Panarin get the empty netter. Cuylle is plus-six with a goal and three assists to date, fairly solid. Kaapo Kakko will likely never be the goal scorer projected for him when he was being drafted. But if he can play as he has to date, grinding, being physical on the boards, then the skill he has might come out.
The fourth line is still a work-in-progress for a few reasons. First, Lavy has been mixing and matching four players for the three spots. The only constants have rightly been Sam Carrick as well as Adam Edstrom. Jonny Brodzinski and Matt Rempe have been alternating games based on the opponent. But when either has played, same with Edstrom, the minutes have been far from consistent. Second, what is the fourth line supposed to be? an energy line? Physical line? Shut down line? Minutes eating line to give the top-nin a rest? When that is determined, then maybe we will have a set trio. This is something that must be ironed out prior to the playoffs as the team has to roll four lines to avoid tiring out the top nine.
2) Defense: still giving up too many chances. Ryan Lindgren is practicing and seems close to returning from his face injury, though has yet to be activated. In his stead, New York continues to go with K'Andre Miller-Adam Fox as the "top" pairing. The duo is having their growing pains, but if Lavy and Phil Housley believe that pair is the future best option, then they need to remain together.
Braden Schneider, playing on his offside with aplomb, has taken a step forward this season while Jacob Trouba has looked close to what we saw before his injury last season. Issues still exist, though the missteps have tamped down compared to prior years. This is a pairing that should remain together, though Lindgren's return probably will result in additional swaps amongst the groupings.
Yesterday, we saw Victor Mancini on his off-side with Chad Ruhwedel, playing his first game of the season. Mancini certainly is ready for a full time role. The question is will he stick because he can go down without passing through waivers while Zac Jones cannot. Mancini showed he can play both sides, but may be better served playing daily in Hartford rather than serving as the seventh d-man. Jones's advanced metrics leave a little to be desired, so it's possible he could be the extra d-man, but that would expose Ruhwedel to waivers if he was to try and be sent down, which is unlikely.
3) Goalies: Igor is playing like he deserves well more than his rumored asking price. Other than one bobble against Utah, during which he was basically left out to dry by his defense, he has been stellar. Shesterkin is playing with the utmost confidence during his 3-0-1 start. Jonathan Quick was good Thursday, aided by a solid D performance in front of him. But when needed, he came up big, This is not an area of any level of concern and barring injury, should not be.
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