3 Stars
1st Star - Hen
2nd Star - reeeeek
3rd Star - Lundqvist
Post Game Cocktail Recommendation
In recognition of the Kings attempting a ridiculous 80 shots against the Rangers tonight, let's all do some shots of our own!
Gif of the Game
Is Kreider trying to do monkey rolls?!?!?!
He's Baaaaaaaaack
Remember last week when we all thought Lundqvist was done? Good times.
When Lundqvist is once again stealing games the Blueshirts have no business winning, you know all is right in Rangerstown.
Let's take a look at some of his handy work tonight.
After the Montreal debacle in which Lundqvist got bombed in relief, I stated that AV had made a mistake going with Raanta that night and the only way Hank would find his groove was by playing him consistently. Tonight was his fourth straight start and "The King" has gotten stronger each night. I know AV wants to keep the Rangers netminder fresh for the playoffs, but the guy thrives on work and the head coach needs to remember that.
Standing Up for Your Teammate
At the time, the Rangers not defending Lundqvist after he was bowled over by Cody Eakin in Dallas had the potential to destroy team chemistry. Instead, the players learned from the incident as they've gone out of their way to defend each other in every subsequent occasion since. Including tonight...
Defend Your King!!!!
I have no idea what kind of defense this is, but it makes for an amazing visual.
Holy Corsi
I'm trying not to rely on fancy stats too often on this blog, but holy crap were the Rangers lucky to come away with the win in this one.
In case you can't read this, the Rangers were outshot attempted by the Kings 65-29 while playing 5-on-5 (80-35 overall). That usually leads to a resounding defeat. But tonight the Rangers had Henrik Lundqvist in goal, while the Kings had Jeff Zatkoff.
Mini Recap
Wait, the Rangers didn't blow a two-goal lead to the Kings? I don't understand.
How deep are the Rangers at forward? AV was able to drop both Kreider and Buchnevich to the fourth line and somehow the team got better.
Not sure if AV is lucky or good, but seeing Puempel pump (pun intended) one home on his first shift after replacing Kreider on the Stepan line was pretty incredible.
Speaking of the Puempel goal, the Girardi pass to spring Stepan might have been the best outlet of his career.
Zuccarello is usually the one dishing out dimes, so it was nice to see him on the receiving end for once allowing him to break a 30-game non-empty net goal scoring drought.
How big of a weight was that goal off Zuccarello's shoulders? Here's exclusive video of him in a private moment after the game.
How big of a weight was that goal off Zuccarello's shoulders? Here's exclusive video of him in a private moment after the game.
Hey, sometimes you're going to win ugly. The Rangers don't need to apologize for their goalie being far superior to LA's. Just take your two points and get ready for Philly. Although, if they play like that again on Wednesday, I'm pretty sure the outcome will be much different.
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