Hockey Night in Canada

New York Rangers Rediscover Their Power Play, Topple Carolina

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New York Rangers

The New York Rangers knew they were heading into a critical stretch of their schedule. Coming off the NHL three-day holiday break, they tinkered with some lines and used some inspired play to down the Carolina Hurricanes 5-3. The Rangers top players came up big as Henrik Lundqvist stopped 39 shots, and Artemi Panarin and Mika Zibanejed each tallied three points.

Power Play Drought Ends for the New York Rangers

One of the most significant factors of the night was that the Rangers ended their 0-18 streak on the power play, tallying two power-play goals out of five chances. In fact, the entire specials units for the Blueshirts were outstanding as they also killed all five of Carolina’s power-play chances.  Zibanejad scored the two power-play goals and added his third point on an assist for Chris Kreider’s goal.  Panarin had a goal and two assists, giving him 14 points in his past nine games. In fact, the highlight of the night was not a goal, but rather Panarin’s spectacular pass to Ryan Stromme that set up the Ranger’s fifth and final goal.

The critical decision of the game came from the coaching staff, especially the video crew, when Carolina had a would-be first-period game-tying power-play goal by Sebastian Aho overturned after the Rangers challenged for offside. Both teams cited this as a massive momentum shift.   The only negative that came from the game was that forward Brendan Lemieux sustained a fractured hand and would be out indefinitely. In his post-game comments, Head Coach David Quinn didn’t have details on a timeframe for Lemieux’s injury or if the Rangers would recall a forward from Hartford.

Canada Swing Starts in Toronto

The Blueshirts will be back in action tonight when they face Original Six foe the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Leafs also played on Friday, defeating the New Jersey Devils 5-4 in overtime. Toronto suffered a critical injury of their own Friday night when forward Ilya Mikheyev sustained a significant laceration to his wrist in the third period. He was transported to a Newark, NJ hospital for evaluation, and remained there overnight. Late reports stated that Mikheyev is stable and has full feeling in his hand and fingers. Face-off is at 7 pm, and the “Hockey Night in Canada” feature game will be shown on MSG+ and the NHL network.

New York Rangers Face Critical Five Game Stretch

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New York Rangers, Artemi Panarin

The New York Rangers are facing a critical five-game stretch coming off the NHL holiday break. The Blueshirts are sitting eight points out of the last wild card spot in the Eastern Conference and must make a strong showing during these key match-ups in order to keep that wild card spot within reach. The challenge for these next five games comes in two parts.

Part One: Back-to-Back Games

The Rangers will face the Carolina Hurricanes in their only home matchup of this stretch. The Hurricanes are 23-13-2 on the season but are facing a two-game losing streak after giving up eight goals in their last game to the Toronto Maple Leafs. The good news for the Rangers is that Carolina has gone 5-22 in the previous 27 meetings in New York.  Nonetheless, the Rangers will have to deal with one of the better offenses in the league. The Blueshirts will then travel to Toronto on Saturday to face the Maple Leafs in an Original Six, “Hockey Night in Canda” matchup. The Leafs defeated the Rangers last week 6-3 at MSG.

Part Two: Trip to Western Canada

Leaving their golf clubs behind, the Blueshirts head out west for three games against Edmonton, Calgary, and Vancouver.  These teams sit in third, fourth, and fifth places, respectively, in the mediocre Pacific Division.

On New Year’s Eve, while many of us are preparing to watch the ball drop in Times Square, The Rangers will square off with the Oilers in a 9 PM (ET) face-off. After a strong start to the season, the Oilers are 3-6-1 over the last ten games. On January 2nd, the Rangers will travel to Calgary to face the Flames, who have been shutout twice in their previous five games. The Rangers will then be the late game feature for “Hockey Night in Canada” when they travel to Vancouver on January 4th for a 10 PM (ET) game against the Canucks.  Vancouver came into the holiday break on a three-game win streak, with their most recent victory coming against Edmonton.  We will all get a clear idea of where the Rangers playoff hopes stand after these five games.