Rangers Recap: Rangers Cruise Past Canucks, Win 5-1

Tonight marks the final game of the New York Rangers' Western Conference road trip as they take on the Vancouver Canucks. Both teams feature players facing off against their former clubs, including Filip Chytil, who will be playing the Rangers for the first time since being shipped to Vancouver. Calling the game tonight are MSG Network Commentators Kenny Albert and Dave Maloney, who make their return to the broadcast after Brian Boyle and Alex Faust admirably carried the mantle.

Dylan Garand is back in net for the Blueshirts, and, to my knowledge, head coach Mike Sullivan is starting the same lines for consecutive games for the first time since the beginning of the season.

First Period

With the Canucks having had several days off, the Rangers had their number when the puck dropped. J.T. Miller and Filip Chytil lined up at the dot, and Miller won the draw cleanly. He and Tye Kartye pressured Leevi Meriläinen, and Adam Fox got his own shot through from the point, but Meriläinen stood tall. Miller, frustrated with something, barked as he went to the bench.

Meriläinen made another big stop on Noah Laba, who was robbed right on the doorstep. Just as it seemed the Rangers may dominate the entire game, Adam Fox was called for a rare penalty. The Canucks initially kept possession in the Rangers' zone, but the Blueshirts' penalty kill was effective, with Garand even getting involved and poking the puck away with his stick. Two minutes later, the first power play of the game was killed off.

After the Canucks failed to convert with the man advantage, the game opened up. Both teams sent long lead passes and used open ice and the neutral zone, with play moving up and down the rink. Miller set up Pavel Dorofeyev from behind the net, but Meriläinen read the play and made the stop. Immediately after, the Canucks had their own big chance, with Linus Karlsson attempting a between-the-legs move right in front.

A little over halfway through the period, the Canucks won an offensive zone face-off and cycled the puck around. Zeev Buium dished the puck, got it back, and took an off-balance shot from the blue line. The puck made its way to the net, and as Garand anticipated a glove save, Elias Pettersson deflected it past the netminderfor the first goal of the game.

The Rangers, to their credit, didn't stop pushing. Oliver Bjorkstrand picked a Canucks forward's pocket as he exited the Vancouver zone and sent a pass to Will Cuylle. Noah Laba crashed the net, got his stick on a perfectly timed pass, but Meriläinen made an incredible save.

The Canucks excelled at getting pucks through to the net from high in the zone. Garand, however, fought through the traffic and made several clutch saves on careening and deflected pucks. The Rangers began to take control of the game, and with just over a minute left, Gabe Perreault tied the game. J.T. Miller, behind the net, was double teamed but still won the puck battle, batting it over to Alexis Lafrenière, who turned and sent a perfect pass on the tape to Gabe Perreault. Perreault saw space where no one else did and roofed the puck past Meriläinen.

Second Period

The Rangers had a strong start to the middle period, keeping the puck in the Canucks zone for the first full minute. Pavel Dorofeyev had the best chance in this sequence, but even getting a shot off while falling, he couldn't beat Meriläinen. As the Canucks tried to get their legs under them, Meriläinen had the puck, and Lafrenière pressured him. Whether intentional or not, Meriläinen deked around Lafrenière, who went sprawling behind the net as Meriläinen passed it forward.

The game was heating up as a scrum around Matthew Robertson popped up after the Canucks were whistled down for offsides. Robertson didn't appreciate the Canucks playing the puck after the whistle and shoved Brendan Gallagher, prompting Max Sassoon to step up and get in Robertson's face. To no one's surprise, Robertson was called for a penalty shortly after and went to the box for hooking.

The Canucks, despite their best efforts, couldn't create much on the power play. This was largely due to multiple Rangers penalty killers making excellent defensive plays. Vladislav Gavrikov, Will Cuylle, and even Garand broke up plays or cleared the puck out of the zone. Soon after, the Rangers got their own power-play opportunity.

The Canucks, with the worst penalty kill in the league, were ripe for the plucking, and the Rangers' barren power play needed this one. After struggling to set up, the Rangers cycled in the second minute of the power play, moving their feet and getting several good looks. As the penalty ticked down, Miller handled the puck by the circle, scanning for an open lane. He saw Bjorkstrand wide open across the zone and fed him the puck. Bjorkstrand wasted no time snapping the puck into the corner of the net, giving the Rangers the lead.

Dave Maloney captured it best, saying, "Y'know what? Boo this!" as he commended Miller's play and acknowledged the Vancouver crowd's commitment to booing their former alternate captain.

The Canucks, falling apart at the seams now, were making mistakes. After Cuylle pressured the Canucks, Meriläinen grabbed the puck and was looking for an outlet pass. He launched it off Filip Chytil, and Glenn Gawdin was there to send it back at the net, scoring his first-ever NHL goal and giving the Rangers a two-goal lead.

The Rangers kept pressing the Canucks and kept getting rewarded. It started with Scott Morrow, who made an excellent defensive play and knocked the puck loose. The Rangers were off to the races, and Zibanejad and Perreault connected, with the latter sending the puck to Lafrenière, who skated through the crease and out waited the Vancouver goaltender, tucking it past him for a goal of his own.

The onslaught continued this period, with the Rangers getting another one. Jaroslav Chmelar carried the puck into the Canucks zone and, after failing to get the puck across, won it back behind the net and sent it up the boards to Gavrikov, who blasted it on net. Gawdin, crossing in front, had the puck deflect off his skate and go in for his second goal of the game and career. What a night for the local Ranger, who apparently had many friends and family members in the crowd.

Third Period

The Canucks had a strong start to the final period, but Dylan Garand kept them off the board. He made multiple stops on Pettersson and shut down Marco Rossi's up-close backhand. Kenny Albert highlighted a fun fact, in the first two minutes of the period, he faced as many shots as he had in the entire second period.

The Canucks, continuing to pressure the Rangers, were eventually awarded a power play as Braden Schneider was called for tripping. The third power play for the Canucks looked dangerous at times, and the Rangers should count their blessings Jake DeBrusk mishandled a pass in the slot. While the Canucks power play ended, their pressure against the Rangers did not. The ice eventually tilted back in the Rangers' favor when they got a power play of their own, but this time they made nothing of it, and just as that ended, the Canucks got yet another power play opportunity.

This period had as many penalties as the rest of the game, but neither team could capitalize on the man advantage. Garand was incredible and made several highlight-reel saves, and Schneider, in a way, made a save of his own by blocking a shot from Buium, but he was clearly in a lot of pain as he waited for the play to stop so he could get off the ice.

The Rangers cruised to an easy victory, beating the team with the worst record in the league by a wide margin, and ended their road trip winning three of four games.