First Period:
- Will Cuylle (13) Unassisted
- Andrew Copp (13) Assists: Joe Veleno (16), Moritz Seider (32)
- Barclay Goodrow (3) Assists: Jonny Brodzinski (12), Jimmy Vesey (11)
Second Period:
- J.T. Compher (17) Assists: Jeff Petry (19), David Perron (24)
- Dylan Larkin (30) (Power Play) Assists: David Perron (25), Shayne Gostisbehere (40)
- Barclay Goodrow (4) Assists: Jimmy Vesey (12), Jonny Brodzinski (13)
Third Period:
- Chris Kreider (37) (Power Play) Assists: Mika Zibanejad (41), Artemi Panarin (66)
Stats:
Adam Rotter:
- This was a little back and forth with quick answers after the Rangers went up 1-0 and then when Detroit went up 3-2. Detroit was supposed to be a desperate team and the Rangers did a good enough job to really limit that, especially in the third period after they got what turned out to be the game winner.
- This is the lineup that I think the Rangers have to start the playoffs with. The bottom-six, especially was strong. The Rangers best third line since the trade deadline was Will Cuylle, Alex Wennberg and Kaapo Kakko. Why Cuylle got scratched and bumped around I don’t know, but he was moved back up and that line was buzzing. Same for the fourth line as Barclay Goodrow scored twice and his line with Jonny Brodzinski and Jimmy Vesey might have been the Rangers best. Matt Rempe is quite the story and if you could slot him in from shift to shift as a pinch hitter of sorts he could be valuable, but he likely doesn’t allow Peter Laviolette to roll four lines the way that Jonny Brodzinski on the fourth line does. I’m sure Rempe will get time before the end of the season and he very well could be a change of pace player inserted after a loss, but it wasn’t a shock he was scratched tonight and it’s possible he only played against the Devils to just get that whole thing out of the way.
- Chris Kreider scored the winner and his 37th. He’s got four in his past five games and is getting hot at the right times. He’s had a weird season for someone who could end up with 40 goals again. He’s had between 5 and 7 goals in every month this season but it feels like he’s gone long stretches without being super impactful. But now he’s got his game back, he’s a force in front on the PP and, again, getting hot at the best time for the Rangers.
- No one seems to want to really grab the third Metro spot and second Wild Card spot and so the Rangers first round opponent is still very much up for grabs. It’s sort of imperative for the Rangers to finish first in the East so that they can avoid Tampa Bay or Toronto in the first round. They’d almost be better off dropping to second in the Metro, and playing third in the Metro in the first round, rather than winning the Division but falling behind Boston or Florida to second overall in the East.
- Montreal comes to MSG on Sunday.