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If you had been aware that a 30-point gap between the Rangers and Devils existed in the standings prior to the Battle of the Hudson on Friday night at the Garden, while watching the game you would have had every reason to believe the New Jersey team held that advantage.
The Devils, who have not played a meaningful game in the second half of a season since 2017-18, carried the play, outshooting the Blueshirts 26-12 over a full 40 minutes, from the 11:11 mark of the first period to the 11:22 mark of the third.
New Jersey generated the more dangerous chances, most often on the rush, while the Rangers were relegated to none-and-done forays into the offensive zone, rarely able to possess the puck below the hash marks, unable to cycle, poor in their work in the neutral zone, and generally unable to make life difficult for a questionable defense and vulnerable young netminder Nico Daws. The power play was inept.
And yet …
At the other end was Igor Shesterkin. Which is why at the end it w as 3-1 for the Rangers, who got more than they deserved out of this last one at home before a challenging four-game trip through the Central time zone begins Sunday in Winnipeg.
Whether you believe the Rangers’ bang-up 35-15-5 success is sustainable rests almost entirely on whether you believe Shesterkin can carry his Hart Trophy-worthy performance through to the finish line. Dominik Hasek once carried an undermanned Sabres team to the conference finals in 1998 and the Stanley Cup final in 1999. We know full well what Henrik Lundqvist did for the Rangers.
“Seriously, how many great saves, Grade-A chances, breakaways?” Rangers head coach Gerard Gallant asked rhetorically. “He’s unbelievable.”
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That has been the theme of the season, with the 26-year-old Russian acting as a one-man antibody to underlying numbers and analytical analysis — a bit too much for the coach’s liking.
“Too many nights,” he said. “More times than I like.”
The game was a surprisingly low energy affair, the rivalry that once burned through the Martin Brodeur-Mike Richter-Henrik Lundqvist eras now all but muted. The Rangers did just enough to prevail. Mika Zibanejad got one. So did Chris Kreider. The penalty kill was very strong, even without staples Kevin Rooney, who is on injured reserve with an upper-body issue, and Greg McKegg, who was ill.
But the Devils pretty much drove the play, even if the Blueshirts did do a pretty decent job of denying Jack Hughes — who came into the game on a six-game point-spree (5-7) — time and space with which to work. When Hughes got his opportunity, with the Devils down 2-1 just over a minute into the third, Jacob Trouba laid out to deflect the drive from the slot out of harm’s way.
“A little bit of instinct, a little bit of desperation,” said Trouba, who had a strong night. “You go down and Igor can see over you. You can go down to one knee and try to take one side of the net away, but just desperation going down.”
Again, there wasn’t a lot of desperation in this one. Nico Hischier, who scored the Devils’ goal, was a constant threat. The Devils, who had allowed six goals or more in four of their previous 11 games, routinely cleared their zone with ease and were rarely forced to scramble. This was one of the team’s most structured performances.
Which again points to the Blueshirts’ deficiency on the forecheck. It is an open question whether president-general manager Chris Drury will be able to add personnel to bolster that effort before the March 21 trade deadline, but that has become an issue at least equally as glaring as the missing top-six piece.
Another question: Did Filip Chytil’s ultimate game-winner from the left circle midway through the second enhance his standing with the Rangers or his value as a trade chip? The answer is: likely both of the above.
You know what was good to see? Adam Fox, who logged 25:24, launching a diagonal outlet from inside his zone to Zibanejad nearing the New Jersey line. Zibanejad then hit the streaking Kreider, who buried his 36th for the insurance score midway through the third.
The Rangers have been making more chip plays to clear the zone this season. There has been less creativity on the breakout. Not on this one.
So it is on to Winnipeg, then Minnesota, St. Louis and Dallas. The Rangers will need to elevate their game. The Rangers will need more of the same from Shesterkin.
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