First Period:
- Jimmy Vesey (7) Assists: Alexis Lafreniere (13), Jacob Trouba (11)
Second Period:
- Julien Gauthier (6) Assists: Adam Fox (33), Barclay Goodrow (11)
- Jack Hughes (25) Unassisted
- Chris Kreider (19) Assists: K’Andre Miller (17), Mika Zibanejad (25)
Third Period:
Ad
- Jesper Bratt (15) (Power Play) Assists: Nico Hischier (20), Jack Hughes (23)
- Jack Hughes (26) Assists: Dawson Mercer (14), Ryan Graves (8)
Overtime:
- Damon Severson (3) Unassisted
Stats:
- They certainly found a way to lose that one.
- The Rangers were sloppy for a lot of this game and other than Igor Shesterkin they weren’t at their best, but they were still in a very good position to win this game with a two-goal lead heading into the third….but they lost the lead and then lost the game.
- The best players for the Devils (Jack Hughes and Jesper Bratt) converted on their chances and the Rangers best players were either stopped (Artemi Panarin had some good shots) or missed the net (FIVE misses for Mika Zibanejad including that chance in OT).
- Overall the Devils were better than the Rangers today. They were faster, sharper, had more chances, forced the Rangers into turnovers and odd-man rushes against…and yet they were still in a position to win. This game had find a way to win written all over it and the opportunity to gain two points while giving the Devils 0. Instead they only get one and the Devils get two.
- It’s strange with these two teams as the team that goes up by two has lost each game. That would lead to some kind of playoff series between these two teams.
- With half of the season done the Rangers are 22-12-7 and on pace for 102 points. From a standings and record perspective the Rangers are about where they probably should be, give or take a couple of more wins that they should have. If you didn’t watch them night in and night out you’d think that they are where they should be, but in watching them night in and out we’ve seen how high and how low they have been. They are a vastly better team over the last 20 games than they were the first 20 and that is encouraging. Igor Shesterkin is back at a Vezina pace, Chris Kreider and Mika Zibanejad are on pace for 40 goals, Adam Fox should be a Norris finalist, Artemi Panarin is on pace for 90 points and Vincent Trocheck has been a pretty solid and steady replacement for Ryan Strome. When he’s been healthy, Filip Chytil has been good, Kaapo Kakko has taken some steps and looks to be a nice fit on the top line and Braden Schneider has been really good. K’Andre Miller has recently found his game, Jimmy Vesey has been consistent in his role, same with Barclay Goodrow and Ryan Lindgren. Julien Gauthier has had more moments than I ever would have expected and Ben Harpur has gone from someone I had never heard of to a steady enough player on the third pair. Jacob Trouba has struggled for the most part and Alexis Lafreniere has just been inconsistent. Before the season I would have bet that Lafreniere would be The Kid that was going to take the biggest step forward, but he is a distant third. He and Trouba have been the biggest disappointments this season….but they still have half a season to make up for it.
- What could we expect from the next 41? Hopefully it’s a lot more of the last 20 games than the first 20. They will add reinforcements at some point. Maybe it’s Patrick Kane, maybe it’s more in the mold of Tyler Motte, or actually Tyler Motte, or defensive depth. Maybe we’ll get a big run at seeing a what a healthy Vitali Kravtsov can bring in the top-six and see how that may or may not change what Chris Drury looks to do.
- Next up should be a nice test against Minnesota on Tuesday.