10:06PM: David Quinn met with the media on MSG and said:

• The first two periods were “blah” for both teams and that most night’s it’s a one-goal game going to the third most nights.
• They played with a lot more “life” in the third, “we certainly did things with a lot more purpose and pace in the third.”
• On Namestnikov, “he’s been a good player for the last two months. He and I have talked, he has been more physical and played with an edge but this is a guy with some skill too and I don’t want that to get lost in how hard he has been playing. We are not trying to turn him into a fourth-line checker, he can create offense with his speed and has good hands and can shoot it. If you add that physical element and being hard on pucks he is going to be more productive offensively and be able to play different roles and that is what he has done. Boy he’s really been good for us. He’s a good player, great kid, love having him here, good teammate. We are lucky to have him.”
• On the Chytil penalty, “I thought it was justice that we got a shorthanded goal and I will leave it at that.”
• On Nieves, “Boo had an awful lot of jump tonight, skating is one of his strengths, he had jump and pace.”
• On Howden, “he had a really good night, not just the goal, he was on his game.”
• On Chytil, “he’s been really good for the last six weeks, playing with pace, creates offense. That is why he is on the line he is on and getting the minutes he is getting.”
• What does the win do for you, “listen, we haven’t felt great about ourselves for a while, it’s been duly noted that it’s been a little bit of a spiral here and lost some leads and played some good hockey but not good enough, found ways to lose but tonight was a feel good moment. We didn’t play great in the first two but we didn’t play poorly. It was a very blah hockey game for two periods. To be able to overcome the first two periods and play with the pace and edge that we did is a testament to our guys and the mental aspect of this game. You are not going to feel great every night and you are not always going to have your “A” game but you have to be mentally tough to recover and win a hockey game and we did that tonight….and our goalie played really well.”

9:36PM: First Period:

Second Period:

• Pontus Aberg Assists: Ryan Getzlaf, Ondrej Kase

Third Period:

• Vladislav Namestnikov Assists: Brett Howden, Jimmy Vesey
• Kevin Hayes (Short Handed) Assists: Vladislav Namestnikov
• Filip Chytil (ENG) Assists: Vladislav Namestnikov, Mika Zibanejad

Three Stars:

• 3: Alex Georgiev
• 2: Vlad Namestnikov
• 1: Kevin Hayes

Stats:

Adam’s Thoughts:

• This wasn’t a masterpiece by the Rangers but it was probably their best overall game in bit. They were not very foreceful offensively in the first two periods but they limited Anaheim and defended pretty well.
• In the third the Rangers got more things going offensively, Vlad Namestnikov tied it, Hayes squeaked one through for the winner and the Ducks only put one shot on net. It was a good third period that capped off a nice overall game.
• With each game that passes it’s becoming harder and harder to see the Rangers trading Kevin Hayes. They still might, and almost certainly will if there is a wide gap in extension talks, but he looks like, and plays like, someone that should be part of the core moving forward.
• Vlad Namestnikov may not score the way he did in Tampa, but he’s a solid two-way player and exceeding, at least my, expectations of his overall game. He’s a good top-nine forward and someone who has been really good under David Quinn.
• Alex Georgiev wasn’t blitzed like he has been in the past but he looked a lot more like the calm goalie he has been in the past than the goalie who made his last couple of starts.