The question after the Rangers’ near-flawless performance Saturday afternoon in a 4-0 victory in Boston is this: Was this one of those blind squirrels happening upon an acorn moment or might is represent the start of something meaningful for the Rangers?
From start to finish, this appeared one of those reverse jersey promotions, except with the Blueshirts masquerading as the Bruins. There was attitude aplenty, commitment to finishing checks, supporting both the puck and one another, smothering work through the neutral and defensive zones, mistake-free goaltending and top-flight performances from the top guys, which included Artemi Panarin among them for the first time in 10 games, since Feb. 20.
“It was definitely huge for us getting him back,” said Mika Zibanejad, who collected two assists in his most assertive and effective performance of the year. “Not only just for the game, but around the locker room and around the guys again.
“I thought the whole team really came together, a real team win, we played really, really solid over the 60 minutes and I think that definitely had something to do with it.”
Panarin, returning from his leave of absence, was energetic and creative in 16:45 of ice while on a line with Ryan Strome and Colin Blackwell. The winger, who had one shot on net, set up Strome with a lovely cross-slot feed for the 3-0 goal at 8:03 of the third period.
Artemi Panarin (left) and Ryan Strome Getty Images“Having him back does so many things not only on the ice, but just mentally, our guys certainly hold him in high esteem,” coach David Quinn said. “He’s a well-liked teammate, he’s a great teammate. Our guys were dying for him to come back for a lot of reasons.
“You put him in our lineup and all of a sudden you’ve got a little more swagger.”
Thursday, with Panarin watching in street clothes, the Rangers got a nothingburger from their marquee players in a sum-zero 4-0 loss in Boston in which the Bruins’ unit of Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron and David Pastrnak had its way with the shrinking visitors.
Two days later, and there was a total reversal of fortune. Jacob Trouba stamped his imprint on the match on the first shift, jostling and jousting with Bergeron. Panarin and Strome played with pace and purpose. And the Zibanejad line dominated, with wingers Chris Kreider and Pavel Buchnevich each getting one.
“They heard it loud and clear,” Quinn said when asked if he needed to speak to his top players in the wake of Thursday’s debacle. “It was certainly talked about with them.
“Listen, any team in this league, if your top players don’t perform, you’re not going to win. I don’t care who they are, how long they’ve been in the league, you just have no chance to win. Look what that [Bergeron] line does for the Bruins, night in and night out. That line drives that team.
“With Pastrnak, Bergeron and Marchand, everybody on that team just feels a little bit braver, they’ve got more swagger and that’s kind of what your top players have to do for your team,” Quinn said. “When your top players are playing well, you just feel different. That’s where our team feel today with our top players performing and delivering.”
The Zibanejad Connection was on for three goals in 6:25 of five-on-five ice time, including Miller’s right-point shot that eluded Jaroslav Halak for the 1-0 lead at 3:06 of the first period following a Zibanejad right-circle faceoff victory.
On for three goals in 6:25 after having been on as a unit for a total of three goals in 107:39 through the first 25 games per Natural Stat Trick. Rather amazing.
And at the same time, the Bergeron line, matched almost equally as far as ice time by the Zibanejad and Strome units and the Trouba-Miller and Ryan Lindgren-Adam Fox tandems, was out-attempted 6-1 in 6:28 of five-on-five hockey before the combination was torn asunder in the third period.
Miller was smart with and without the puck, excellent with his stick and strong in one-on-one’s in perhaps his most complete performance as a pro in a career-high 23:36 that was one second shy of Fox’s team-leading total. Lindgren had a big-time game through all three zones.
The 200×85 foot game was so strong that Keith Kinkaid didn’t even get a mention until this late in the account, the goaltender facing 18 shots, perhaps not one of them has hairy as the inadvertent close-in put-back off Fox’s leg with time dwindling in the match.
So the Rangers rebounded from Thursday. They have done that relatively well after their most odoriferous performances. That’s good. But the trick is to avoid those altogether.
