The Rangers took down the Penguins yet again after beating them at home last Friday. Read to find out why these wins are coming at just the right time for the Blueshirts.
Rangers Defeat Penguins For Second Time in Five Day Span
In need of a late-season jolt, the New York Rangers have stepped up big time over the last few games. The Rangers are 3-0 and two of those three victories have notably come against their division rivals, the Pittsburgh Penguins.
After the Rangers’ Tuesday night victory over Pittsburgh, they have leapfrogged over the Pens for control of 2nd place in the Metropolitan Division. The Rangers now have 91 points to the Penguins’ 90 and have now won three more games this season than Pittsburgh.
In the regular season’s final month, the Rangers have an excellent opportunity to add to the hot streak they currently find themselves on.
Game Recap
This game started in a familiar fashion for the Rangers as the defense and goaltending were both lockdown until the Penguins finally managed to find twine late in the first period.
The 2nd period treated the Rangers much better as forward Frank Vatrano and defender Braden Schneider scored within four minutes of each other to put New York up 2-1.
Chris Kreider, the team’s leading scorer, buried his 45th goal of the season very early in the 3rd period to put the Rangers up 3-1. New York never looked back as they won the game 3-2 in spite of a mid-period goal by Sidney Crosby.
Both Kreider and Artemi Panarin earned two points in this game as Kreider had an assist to go with his 3rd period goal and Panarin was credited with two assists.
Despite the offense stepping up for the Rangers after the first period, it yet again has to be said that this team would not be able to win games like this without the incredible goaltending of Igor Shesterkin. Shesterkin made 22 saves on 24 opportunities and earned his 32nd win of the season (tied for 3rd most in the league).
These past 10 games the Rangers have shown what they are capable of as a team as they flaunt a 7-3 record over that stretch. The team’s recent pair of wins against a great Penguins squad shows the potential that New York is working with as the season’s home stretch rages on and the playoffs get closer by the day.
The Metro Division race is heating up! Take a look at how Spencer Davis breaks down the potential matchups.
Looking Ahead
The Rangers look to continue this hot streak they’ve been on of late as their next few matchups will come against the Detroit Red Wings, New York Islanders and Philadelphia Flyers.
After that the Rangers will head to the Garden State to take on the New Jersey Devils before returning home to finish off the season series with Pittsburgh at home on April 7th.
These next four games will all be coming against non-playoff contenders, so it is incumbent on the Rangers to win at least three of those matchups in anticipation for their final regular season meeting with the Penguins.
If the Rangers can win three of their next four, they have a great chance to widen the gap for 2nd place in the Eastern Conference’s Metropolitan Division. New York is now just five points off the division-leading Carolina Hurricanes with 15 games remaining, so you can bet that the Rangers have their ambitions set on more than just 2nd place in the Metropolitan right now.
The Rangers will take on the Hurricanes in their final meeting of the regular season on April 12th. That is yet another game that the Rangers need to go into and win if they want to continue to climb in the standings as the regular season winds down.
If the Rangers keep playing like they have been lately, they may very well end the season as division leaders as they prepare for their postseason campaign.
