The New York Rangers continued their winning ways this week with two wins in both games played. The players are starting to gel extremely well within Gerard Gallant’s system of hockey and the offense seems to be getting better game by game. The Rangers scored at least four goals in both games this week and extended their win total on the season to 13. Let’s jump into what was a short, but exciting week of New York Rangers hockey.
New York Rangers vs. New York Islanders – 11/24/21
Yes, the Islanders were an absolutely depleted team this week but that doesn’t make the victory over them at IBS… excuse me I mean UBS arena any less exciting. The Rangers/Islanders rivalry is as fierce as any in the sport of hockey and these games are always can’t miss no matter the roster makeup. After a scoreless first period, the Rangers would strike first in the second. Who scored the game’s opening goal? You guessed it: none other than Christopher James Kreider.
Kreider would perfectly redirect a Ryan Strome feed past the Isles’ goaltender for a 1-0 lead. It would be Kreider’s 14th goal of the season and shockingly it was scored on the power-play. Kreider has reached a level we have never seen before this year with 14 goals (and maybe another to come…) scored before American Thanksgiving. If the Rangers do make the playoffs this season, he will be a big reason why. Kevin Rooney was next to make his impact felt and he would score roughly 14 and a half minutes into the second period. The fourth line came through huge when Barclay Goodrow sent a beautiful feed to Rooney, who then tapped the puck across the goal line. 2-0 Rangers heading into the third period.
Andy Andreoff would score for the Islanders just 3:52 into the third but the Rangers had no intentions of letting them back into the game. Just seconds later at 4:12 of the third period, Kevin Rooney would score his second of the game after receiving a gorgeous feed from Ryan Reaves. The fourth line made their presence felt again as the Rangers took a 3-1 lead. At 11:02 of the third, Chris Kreider would put the final nail in the coffin. Mika Zibanejad and Kreider linked up for a beautiful give and go play that ended in Kreider’s 15th goal of the year. That’s 15 before American Thanksgiving now. Rangers win 4-1 and win the first battle of New York at UBS Arena.
New York Rangers vs. Boston Bruins – 11/26/21
This was a statement game for the New York Rangers. The Boston Bruins are a very good team and despite some ridiculous heroics throughout the game from goalie Jeremy Swayman, the Rangers found their offensive groove once again and would go on to defeat the Bruins by the score of 5-2. Let’s see how we got there
Roughly 15 minutes into the game the Bruins would lead 1-0 after a goal from Craig Smith. Some shoddy defensive play led to the opening tally but the Rangers would not go to the locker room quietly. At 19:54 of the first period, Ryan Strome would score a huge goal for the team. Artemiy Panarin would send a perfect pass to Strome who one-timed the puck home from the slot. 1-1 heading to the second period.
At 6:51 of the second period, Patrice Bergeron would score to give the Bruins a 2-1 lead but from there it was all Rangers. Dryden Hunt would slam home a Ryan Lindgren rebound at 12:33 of the second to tie the game at two. Hunt looked great on a line with Panarin and Strome this game. He gives them a player with an endless motor akin to Jesper Fast of past seasons. The third period would feature three more goals from the Rangers. Julien Gauthier would send a laser of a pass to Panarin who would bang home the puck for a 3-2 lead. It was a gorgeous goal scored on the rush. Gauthier would make his presence felt again later in the period as he would send a feed to Alexis Lafreniere on a 2-on-1 play. Lafreniere would snipe the puck past Swayman for a 4-2 Rangers lead. They were rolling. Jacob Trouba would cap the win with an empty netter late in the period.
13-4-3. The Rangers are on fire.
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