10:26PM: David Quinn spoke with the media on MSG following the win and said:
- On the game, “We seem to be a little fragile mentally and I was really anxious to see how we would respond to our good first period and we never gave ourselves a chance. We took a bad penalty just like we did against Winnipeg and they score early in the period and you could sense it on the bench. You gotta get out of that rut and you can’t hang your head after we give up a goal, we have to keep playing and do the things we did in the first period. Our goal is to build off the first. They get 4 PPs and we get 1, which can really skew a game too, you can’t kill four penalties against that team and some of them were not necessary so we need to clean that are up for sure.”
- How do you work on mentally fragility, “it’s just practice and doing it over and over again and doing it right, feeling good about your effort and what you accomplish. We will draw from the first period and continue to get better and get out of it. That is what we have to do.”
- On Hayes on the wing, “early on the line played well. I didn’t think they had a great second or third but you could say that about the team in general. After watching the film I’ll have a better feel for what they look like.”
- On Matt Beleskey, “he has the ability to score goals. That line didn’t play a lot, I was hoping to play them more so you will probably see them more against Tampa but he has the ability to score goals and contribute offensively.”
9:55PM – First Period:
- Mika Zibanejad Assists: Jimmy Vesey, Kevin Hayes
- Vladislav Namestnikov (Short Handed) Assists: Kevin Hayes, Fredrik Claesson
Second Period:
Ad
- Keith Yandle (Power Play) Assists: Mike Hoffman, Jonathan Huberdeau
- Jonathan Huberdeau Assists: Keith Yandle
- Matt Beleskey Assists: Brady Skjei, Tony DeAngelo
- Aaron Ekblad Assists: Jonathan Huberdeau, Evgenii Dadonov
Third Period:
- Fredrik Claesson
- Aleksander Barkov (Power Play) Assists: Keith Yandle, Mike Hoffman
Overtime:
Shootout:
- Zibanejad: SCORES
- Barkvov: STOPPED
- Shattenkirk: SCORES
- Huberdeau: SCORES
- Hayes: SCORES
Stats:
- This was an uneven night for the Rangers. They were really good in the first period and looked a lot like the team the Rangers are when they are playing smart and winning battles.
- Then the second started and the game seemed to slip away from the Rangers. They blew another multi-goal lead, struggled on the PK and while they kept getting the lead, Florida was never far from tying it.
- So much of this season is based upon progress that we see from individual players but overall progress from the group as a whole, within David Quinn’s system, is equally as important. One of the big things for the second half of the year will be how this group defends a lead.
- Henrik Lundqvist was not as sharp as usual during regulation but he was spectacular in OT and the only reason why the Rangers were able to get another point. That said, with the group in front of him and their struggles with the puck, if he isn’t in “A1” shape every night the Rangers are likely going to be in trouble.
- NIght after night we are seeing Mika Zibanejad establish himself as a front-line player and someone deserving of All-Star consideration. The ability to have guys like Zibanejad, Kreider and Hayes, all still “young,” setting examples and carrying the load takes an enormous amount of pressure off the 19/20 year old Rangers. The 19/20 year old Rangers may be the future, but right now they don’t have to be the present and that allows them to develop at their own pace without the spotlight blaring on them.