Recap: Rangers Power Past Capitals 5-1

Tonight our boys in blue took on the visiting Washington Capitals. They were looking for revenge after their dud against their division rival in early December and boy did they get it tonight. Multiple Rangers stepped up to score  as this one came down to a group effort led by K’Andre Miller. Igor was sharp in net as he turned aside all but one of the Capitals shots and the team cruised to a thoroughly convincing win. Let’s get to the details.

1st Period

As the game began, the two teams were testing the waters. Some big plays were made which resulted in some great scoring opportunities for both teams but overall the first twenty minutes of the game were rather uneventful. The biggest stressor came at the very end of the period as the Capitals went on the power play and pressured the Rangers in the seconds winding down but they were able to squeak it out and survive into the second period tied at zero.

2nd Period

As the middle period began, and the Rangers killed off the rest of their penalty, the momentum seemed to favor the Capitals. It didn’t take long for them to strike first. From behind their own net Mantha was hit with a stretch pass which sent him flying into the Rangers’ zone with little to no trouble. Although at an unfavorable angle, he sent the puck over Igor’s glove right into the tippity top of the corner and put the Capitals on the board first.

As the Rangers regained their composure it didn’t take long for them to tie the game and then some. Controlling the puck in the zone, the Blueshirts were cycling. Miller shoveled the puck to Zibanejad and cut towards the net looking for the give and go pass. What he did next was a high level hockey IQ play that allowed him to receive the puck back and bury his grade A scoring chance. While anticipating the pass, he stick checked the Washington defender, essentially taking him out of the play and giving him the space needed to perfectly place a beautiful backhand into the back of the net.

Best part about the above goal, is the team wasn’t done, not by any means. About five minutes later into the second period the Rangers would quickly strike not once but twice more. At the end of a power play, Fox passed the puck into the zone. Zibanejad was able to dish it off to Trocheck who had a little bit of space to make the heads up play and get the puck to Panarin over at bottom of the right circle. Panarin wasted no time, not letting Kuemper set up, and buried the puck over his glove hand in the top corner.

Exactly forty seconds later as the previous goal was being announced, the Rangers struck again. This one was a bit odd, the team scrambling for the puck was able to maintain possession in the offensive zone. Goodrow who was carrying the puck took a tumble but was able to keep control of the puck. Vesey corralled the puck to Lindgren on the point who put it right into the path of Braden Schneider, who had just come onto the ice, Schneider whipped the puck on net as a clump of players rotated in front of Kuemper preventing him from seeing the puck. The Rangers were cooking with gas now.

While the Rangers dominated the scoresheet in the second period, it wasn’t all good news. After an elbow from Tom Wilson, Jacob Trouba was injured and left the game. News from Laviolette after the game is stating Trouba will be further evaluated tomorrow but Miller commented he seemed to be doing okay, so take that for what it’s worth. Trouba is a contentious player for a lot of folks. He’s often on the giving end of bone-crushing hits that have the hockey world locked in debate as to whether they’re legal checks. This time around Trouba was the one being hit and to be frank it’s easy to miss. He slightly collided with Wilson as he tried to cut him off from the net while backchecking. It wasn’t a big play, but it did affect the Rangers tough defender, and if you look closely you can see the contact from Wilson’s elbow.

3rd Period

The Rangers came out of the tunnel without their captain but the show must go on. Close to halfway through the period they struck again. Miller made an excellent defensive play to stop Ovechkin and the play went the other way. Kreider carried the puck into the offensive zone, pivoted, maintained possession and used his big body to ward off the Capitals defenders and give his teammates plenty of space to enter behind him. He hit Miller with a perfect pass who put the puck right into the net off the bar to increase the Rangers lead. This is a perfect example of how K’Andre Miller can dominate games. His long reach allows him to make difficult defensive plays with relative ease and his swift skating and stride had him join the rush and score another goal. While this was an exciting and excellent moment for the young defender, it happened to be another historic one for Kreider. With this assist he passed Adam Graves for 10th most points in NYR history. Kreider’s superb career achievements keep racking up.

With less than ten minutes to go the Rangers weren’t done. Trocheck batted down a puck and kept the play alive in the offensive zone. The Rangers continued to cycle and Adam Fox came down the side boards and sent a puck straight through the middle to Alexis Lafrenière, who was waiting patiently and immediately launched it into the back of the net past Kuemper. This was the last tally of the game as the Rangers ended up taking this one 5-1 over the Washington Capitals.

The Rangers have a tough upcoming back-to-back weekend as they travel to Florida. Friday night will see them take on the Florida Panthers and then the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday. As we end 2023, these two games should be an excellent test for what has so far been a great, albeit slightly surprising, start to their season.