Rangers Open Their Cup Quest By Knocking Off The Champs On Banner Night


It took under two minutes after what seemed like a 2-hour banner-raising ceremony for the Blueshirts to light the lamp against the defending champs. On his first shift as the Rangers 3rd-line C, rookie Oscar Lindberg beat Corey Crawford’s glove to show that spot is rightfully his. Klein & Stepan potted two more to wrap up a dominant opening 20. It’s fair to say the Hawks dictated play the rest of the way, but The King brought his A-game to turn away all 14 pucks in the 3rd & put a bow on an entertaining season opener. You can argue Patty Kane’s disallowed goal should’ve counted but the biscuit was clearly out of sight under Hank’s pad. There’s nothing wrong with that whistle. Seeing some 3-on-3 between these two talented squads would’ve been fun though.
I liked what I saw from the Rangers bottom 6 forwards. Tanner Glass was certainly not missed last night. The line of Stoll/Moore/Fast was outstanding & deservedly on the ice about as much as the Brass & Step trios. 6 hits & 7 shots, including a high-quality scoring chance from Stoll to Moore, is an effort that shows just how deep this team is. AV protected Stalberg/Lindberg/Miller a bit by limiting their time despite being on the ice for their first two goals but I assume that’ll be the game plan all year. Stoll’s line will protect leads, Lindberg’s line will get more work when offense is needed. Seeing the rotation helped answer any questions as to why Vigneault put these threesomes together like he did. Brassard’s line looked like crap but it’s a long season. No worries.
Defensively – eh. Dan Boyle was directly responsible for Artem Panarin’s first career goal which led to some of his minutes being given to Dan Girardi – whose defensive strategy of essentially curling up in a ball in front of his crease led to the disallowed equalizer. Nothing new though for Rangers fans and Girardi isn’t going anywhere. It’ll be interesting to see what comes of Boyle though. AV ignored a poor preseason and said he’ll start judging his veteran blueliner when the games count. After last night’s performance & Brady Skjei chomping at the bit in Hartford, old man Boyle may be on borrowed time. Kevin Klein, the guy many fans wanted shipped out, played great even without his tally.
All in all, a quality W which should be one of 50 or so for the Blueshirts. Next up is a home-and-home beginning tomorrow against a feisty Jackets team many expect to make some noise in the East. AV announced Hank will be back between the pipes Friday so it looks like Antti Raanta will make his debut opening up the MSG schedule Saturday night.