First Period:
- Ryan Poehling (9) Assists: Michael Pezzetta (5), William Lagesson (5)
Second Period:
- Ryan Reaves (5) Assists: Kevin Rooney (6), Patrik Nemeth (5)
- Jeff Petry (5) Assists: Christian Dvorak (20), Josh Anderson (11)
Third Period:
- Frank Vatrano (18) Assists: Barclay Goodrow (19)
- Mike Hoffman (14) Assists: Joel Edmundson (2), Nick Suzuki (39)
- Ryan Strome (21) (Shorthanded) Assists: Barclay Goodrow (20)
Stats:
Adam Rotter:
- So this was basically like a preseason game with how the Rangers set their roster and how low the stakes were.
- I was glad but surprised at how many of the top guys were rested tonight. We’ll see if they stick with this plan for Friday or if some guys go back in. If the plan is only to rest them for one game then I would rather have seen all those guys play tonight and then sit against the Caps. I understand that the second half of the back-to-back was probably a key reason for why those guys sat, but Washington will present a much riskier game.
- It is also possible that the Rangers not only keep the guys who were out tonight out but that they call up a few more players from Hartford and then sit even more players on Friday. Players that could sit on Friday would likely be K’Andre Miller, Ryan Strome, and Barclay Goodrow.
- Kaapo Kakko returned to the lineup and he is just about the only forward that needs to play so that he can shake off the rust before the playoffs.
- In terms of the actual game, it sure seemed like the Rangers were going to find a way to win after tying the game three times, but Montreal scored late and picked up the win.
- It’s nice to see Zac Jones back up and getting a chance to play. I hope the Rangers don’t have to dig too far deep into their defensive depth during the playoffs, but it will be interesting to see if he would get a shot before Libor Hajek would.
- The regular season comes to end on Friday against Washington in what may or may not be a preview of their first round series.