Over the last two games, the Rangers have shutout the Pittsburgh Penguins and Nashville Predators 6-0 and 7-0 respectively. Remember when we were concerned about this team's ability to jell? Well, guess what? Mission accomplished as far as the jelling is concerned. Just look at these numbers.
K'Andre Miller: 2 goals, 4 assists
Artemi Panarin: 3 goals, 2 assists
Mika Zibanaejad: 2 goals, 3 assists
Jacob Trouba: 1 goal, 3 assists
Vincent Trocheck: 3 assists
Chris Kreider: 2 goals
Vladimir Tarasenko: 1 goal, 1 assist
Filip Chytil: 1 goal, 1 assist
Patrick Kane: 2 assists
Adam Fox: 2 assists
Tyler Motte: 1 goal
Barclay Goodrow: 1 assist
Kaapo Kakko: 1 assist
Jaroslav Halak: 1 assist
As you can see, the scoring was pretty well distributed throughout the roster. Line one had twelve points; line two had seven points; line three had three points; line four had two points; and the defense had a whopping twelve points. Even the goalie had an assist. The three forwards Chris Drury acquired at the trade deadline are making their mark. Tarasenko has five goals and eight assists in nineteen games; Kane has three goals and four assists in nine games; and Motte has two goals and two assists in twelve games. Gerard Gallant has been looking to roll four lines since his arrival. Now he can.
The last time a team scored six plus goals in consecutive shutout wins was 1977 when the Philadelphia Flyers accomplished it. Beginning in the third period of that first home game against the Penguins - a 4-2 win - the Rangers have scored fifteen unanswered goals, the most by a team this season, and the most for the franchise since 1973. When you have to go all the way back to the '70s to find a comparable performance, you've done something pretty damn special.
And speaking of special, going into last night's game, the Rangers had scored power play goals in five of their last seven games, going 6 for 20 over that span for a 30 percent conversion rate. Conversely, they'd killed off 22 out of 24 penalties in their last eight games for a 91.7 percent kill rate. That's about as elite as it gets. FYI: teams that get that kind of performance from their special teams in the playoffs typically go deep.
But as impressive as this recent onslaught was to behold, even more gratifying was the performance in net from Igor Shesterkin and Halak. Both made huge saves early in their respective starts to keep the game scoreless until the offense got going, and later on to preserve the shutout. It cannot be overstated just how critical it is for this team to have both their goaltenders in top form going into the postseason, especially Shesterkin. Put succinctly, they will go only as far as Igor takes them.
It was only a few weeks ago that yours truly was sounding the alarm over last year's Vezina trophy winner. Shesterkin's overall numbers were already off from last season, that was obvious. But since the All-Star break, they've been particularly bad. In February, his goals against average was a season-high 3.71 and his save percentage was a woeful .863. Pucks that he routinely turned away were now getting past him.
Since the beginning of March, though, his numbers have improved considerably. His GAA is 2.10 and his SV% is .928. Over his last four starts, they've really taken off. He's allowed only six goals on 129 shots for a .953 save percentage. And Halak in his last two starts has allowed only three goals on 57 shots for a .947 save percentage. Now that's what I call a dynamic duo.
Having a reliable backup goaltender, in what promises to be a long and grueling playoff tournament, will give Gallant the option of resting Shesterkin a game or two. Last postseason, he had no choice but to ride his number one goalie pretty much the whole way. This postseason, he'll have Halak in the bullpen should he need him. Among the top teams in the East, only the Boston Bruins have a better tandem.
And now for the sixty-four thousand dollar question. Are the Rangers a legitimate contender? Yes, they are. Mind you, they still have a few kinks to iron out on defense, where they still give up a few too many scoring chances, but I suspect that will improve dramatically once Ryan Lindgren returns; hopefully in the next few games. As of right now, I'd rate them as the second best team in the conference behind only the Bruins. They're better and deeper than last year's team and they have the goaltending to go all the way.
The Rangers are 6-0-1 in their last seven games, five points behind the New Jersey Devils and six points behind the Carolina Hurricanes. It is not inconceivable that they could catch both teams. They play the Canes in a home and home Tuesday and Thursday, followed by the Florida Panthers Saturday on the road, the Columbus Blue Jackets next Tuesday at the Garden and the Devils the following Thursday in Jersey. A sweep of all five games could potentially catapult them into first place in the Metro division.
Like I said, sometimes all you can do is sit back and enjoy the show.
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