First Period:
- Mika Zibanejad (33) Assists: Vladimir Tarasenko (25)
- Nicolas Aube-Kubel (4) Assists: Aliaksei Protas (8), Matt Irwin (3)
- Mika Zibanejad (34) Assists: Artemi Panarin (54), Igor Shesterkin (1)
- Patrick Kane (19) (Power Play) Assists: Adam Fox (50), Vincent Trocheck (32)
Second Period:
- Jacob Trouba (7) Assists: Vincent Trocheck (33), Patrick Kane (31)
- Matt Irwin (2) Assists: T.J. Oshie (14), Rasmus Sandin (24)
Third Period:
Ad
- Nic Dowd (12) Assists: Dylan Strome (32), Trevor van Riemsdyk (15)
- Jimmy Vesey (10) (Empty Net) Assists: K’Andre Miller (26)
Three Stars:
- 3: Igor Shesterkin
- 2: Patrick Kane
- 1: Mika Zibanejad
Stats:
- The way this game started, and for most of the first, it seemed like maybe the Rangers were going to have a dominant sort of game. Not necessarily 9-1, but a game where they controlled the pace, controlled the puck, worked hard and rolled to an easy win. That did not happen as the Caps were the better team for parts of the second and a lot of the third. You expect the Caps to push, and they did, but the Rangers reverted to poor coverage and poor puck management and all the sudden the Rangers went from a comfortable lead to a one-goal lead. They won, but it’s another one of those games where it turned out to be a lot closer than it needed to be. There was probably more good than bad and more good to build on than most of their prior wins, but there is still a lot of work to be done.
- It seems like Patrick Kane is getting more and more comfortable and it makes sense as he now has a few games under his belt. Playing with Chris Kreider and Vincent Trocheck is interesting, as opposed to playing with Filip Chytil and Alexis Lafreniere, but maybe the three veterans will be easier and help with his adjustment to the Rangers.
- We also saw some chemistry with Artemi Panarin, Mika Zibanejad and Vladimir Tarasenko. I’m sure the lines will change many more times before the end of the season, but for now the Rangers can go with the same lines for Thursday.
- Next up is two against the Pens at MSG on Thursday and Saturday.