The New York Rangers came away with a 6-2 victory over the Boston Bruins on Friday afternoon.
Despite a win in Carolina on Wednesday night, Mike Sullivan made a slight change to the offensive lines, putting J.T. Miller with Mika Zibanejad and Alexis Lafrenière, while placing Will Cuylle on a line with Artemi Panarin and Vincent Trocheck.
Cuylle seemed to thrive on his new line, forcing a turnover early in the first period, which led to a 2-on-1 chance in which he found Panarin for a goal.
On the Rangers’ second goal of the first period, Cuylle’s nifty play to keep possession in the offensive zone and get the puck to Vincent Trocheck developed into a Carson Soucy goal.
Through the first 20 minutes of the contest, the Rangers dominated the pace of play. A large part of that was due to the aggressive forechecking from New York’s forwards.
The Blueshirts’ relentless forechecking allowed for them to generate multiple high-quality scoring chances through the turnovers they were creating.
The Bruins provided some pushback to start the opening frame, but momentum quickly shifted back into the Rangers’ favor after they were awarded two consecutive power plays, including a four-minute double minor.
New York cashed in with two power-play goals from Mika Zibanejad to take a commanding 4-0 lead.
The power play was clicking on all cylinders, led by the first unit consisting of Adam Fox, Zibanejad, Panarin, Miller, and Trocheck.
“The power play, obviously, was the difference maker in the game,” Mike Sullivan emphasized.
It was in the third period, up 4-0, when the Rangers began to take their foot off of the gas and let the Bruins creep back into the game with two quick goals.
While the Rangers managed to hold off the Bruins’ attempted comeback, Sullivan still feels it’s imperative moving forward to remain aggressive even when the team is attempting to maintain a lead.
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“When you get a four-goal lead heading into the third period, you are guarding against human nature,” said Sullivan. “You want to exhale, but you can’t in today’s game. I just think it's so important that you continue to keep your foot on the gas. Continue to play the game that has brought you success.”
Any time the Bruins did seize momentum, the Rangers adapted and were able to take control back, which is a sign of a well coached unit that is able to manage the ebbs and flows of a game.
Panarin also had a notable performance, recording four points on the day. His offensive game has begun to come alive as of late, and that’s no surprise to Sullivan.
“He has game-breaking ability with his playmaking. Once again, it was on display tonight. He was dynamic,” Sullivan said of Panarim. “Just his ability to create time and space for himself. He uses the width of the rink really well to create just this amount of separation that he needs to make that next play. He has such great vision. He sees the play away from the puck so well. He's one step ahead of everybody on the ice.”
Early on in the season, the Rangers’ top forwards were struggling to produce offense. That has not been the case through the team’s most recent stretch.
Over the past five games:
Panarin: 6 points
Zibanejad: 6 points
Miller: 4 points
Trocheck: 5 points
Cuylle: 3 points
Lafrenière: 2 points
The Rangers’ offense operates effectively when their top-six forward core is producing, and after a slow start, they are beginning to score at a high level and build confidence.
The Blueshirts have rattled off two road victories in a row. Maybe it hasn’t been perfect, but there are a lot of positives to take away from this Thanksgiving road trip.
Players are beginning to fully buy into Sullivan’s system and are growing accustomed to the way that he wants them to play.
“I think our execution can continue to improve, just getting a little bit sharper with our puck possession game, but I think the guys are buying into the game that we’re trying to play as a team,” Sullivan said. “We're trying to continue to build our team game. It's essential to win in this league consistently. Obviously, we've gone into some pretty tough buildings. … I think the group is buying in.”
The Rangers will be back in action on Saturday afternoon against the Tampa Bay Lightning.