First Period:
- Mika Zibanejad (20) Assists: Kaapo Kakko (10), Adam Fox (36)
- Barclay Goodrow (9) (Power Play) Assists: K’Andre Miller (20), Kaapo Kakko (11)
Second Period:
- Vitali Kravtsov (3) Assists: Filip Chytil (12), Barclay Goodrow (12)
Third Period:
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- Andrew Peeke (4) Assists: Gustav Nyquist (11), Jack Roslovic (20)
Stats:
- For two periods this seemed like it was about as easy a game the Rangers have had, or probably will have, this season. The Rangers kept that easy game going in the third and Columbus made a big push, got one and came close to getting more, but Jaro Halak made some big saves to secure the win.
- They played fine in the first two periods, but Columbus just let the Rangers dictate everything and it made the game seem so lopsided.
- Jaro Halak has been very good after a shaky start. I thought he would have started last night against his former team in Montreal, but he was solid against Columbus and saved them in the third period.
- Ryan Lindgren just continues to take a beating and then always returns to the game. He made some incredible plays to help close this game out.
- No one needs this little break and only one game until next Monday more than Alexis Lafreniere. He may also need the All-Star break, but he just needs a reset. He had some chances tonight, like he did last night, he took a brutal offensive zone penalty and he just needs a fresh start of sorts for the rest of the season.
- Kaapo Kakko continues to play with confidence and make plays and it was nice to see Filip Chytil and Vitali Kravtsov connect on a goal.
- The PP scored…but it was the second unit. The first unit had a few chances, but it’s still not connecting or executing at the level it needs to. I think they should swap out Alexis Lafreniere for someone else, until Chris Kreider comes back, and I think that K’Andre Miller should fully replace Jacob Trouba on the second unit. I think Miller deserves it with how much his offensive game has grown over the last little while.
- Thursday against Boston will be a measuring stick game of sorts. The Bruins have been incredible this season and beat the Rangers pretty good earlier in the season, but the Rangers are a better team than they were then.