Aaron Voros joins the party with his first goal of the season.
All the Rangers coaches were hoping for following their impressive 6-2 win over the Canadiens on Sunday was a repeat of the effort the team gave during that victory. Not only did they receive the same effort but the players took it to another level as they jumped on the Lightning early and controlled play from start to finish during a dominant 8-2 dismantling of the visiting Tampa Bay club.
After a fight between Aaron Voros and Tampa’s Zenon Konopka off the game’s opening faceoff really got the crowd going, Brandon Dubinsky continued his inspired play of late and got the scoring started when he cleaned up a rebound in front of Antero Nittymaki to give the Blueshirts a 1-0 lead. The Rangers controlled play for the rest of the period with their strong forechecking and used tallies by Vinny Prospal and the resurgent Chris Drury to take a 3-1 lead after one period.
Dan Girardi and Enver Lisin would extend the lead to 5-1 in the second period and chase Nittymaki from between the pipes. Alex Tanguay would score on the power play late in the period to keep the Lightning withing striking distance but Henrik Lundqvist would shut the door the rest of the way.
Marc Staal, Aaron Voros (on the power play) and Christopher Higgins would put a nice bow on the blowout with third period tallies and gave the Rangers their second straight game with at least 6 goals. It still may be too early to call the Rangers’ season long offensive struggles solved but these two performances are definitely a promising step in the right direction.
Thumbs Up- Brian Boyle, Sean Avery and Erik Christensen were amongst the few Rangers who didn’t score a goal tonight but continued their energetic play that has been the catalyst on many of the offensive opportunities the team has cashed in on over the last two contests. Ryan Callahan and Chris Drury once again excelled on the penalty kill. Vinny Prospal seems to have fully recovered from his injury and was a factor tonight with a goal and an assist.
Thumbs Down- It was hard to find any negatives with tonight’s performance but the only thing that stood out to me was Artem Anisimov’s inability to get anything going offensively. I’m sure if he keeps up the work ethic he has shown so far during the first half of the year, he will find a way to break through but this is a situation that might bear watching especially if Evgeny Grachev should begin to put up numbers in Hartford.
Three Stars- 3-Henrik Lundqvist- “The King” was very strong early when the game was still anybody’s contest. His big saves during the first period gave the Rangers the confidence to continue to attack offensively. Another impressive performance from Lundqvist, who is finally getting the support he deserves from his forwards.
2- Aaron Voros- The toughest thing to do is come to the arena each night knowing that you might not be in the lineup the next game, even if you have a good outing that night. Aaron Voros has had to deal with this situation and be ready to contribute when called upon all season and up to this point his results have been hit and miss. Tonight, it was a big hit for Voros as he got the crowd involved early with a fight, was a physical presence throughout, drew a late penalty by being smart and even contributed a garbage time goal (after being rewarded with power play time by John Tortorella for his drawing the man advantage). This was Voros’ best game since early last season and i’m willing to wager he has earned another start in the Blueshirts’ next contest.
1- Marian Gaborik- For most of the year, Gaborik has been the Rangers focal point on offense and only consistent goal scorer. Tonight, he was the team’s playmaker with assists on 4 of the Rangers first 6 goals. Gaborik has to love this new found offensive output from his teammates as it takes the pressure off him to have to carry the club each time they hit the ice. He showed this evening that he is just as comfortable being a support player as being the team’s biggest star.
The Rangers will try to continue their explosive run when they visit the Flyers in Philadelphia on Thursday at 7 PM.
Tags: Aaron Voros, AHL, Alex Tanguay, Antero Nittymaki, Artem Anisimov, blowout, Brandon Dubinsky, Brian Boyle, Chris Drury, Christopher Higgins, Dan Girardi, Enver Lisin, Erik Christensen, Evgeny Grachev, fights, Hartford Wolfpack, Henrik Lundqvist, hockey, injuries, Madison Square Garden, Marc Staal, Marian Gaborik, Montreal Canadiens, New York Rangers, NHL, Philadelphia Flyers, Ryan Callahan, Sean Avery, Tampa Bay Lightning, Vinny Prospal, Zenon Konopka
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Dan Girardi has another strong performance with 2 goals in the Rangers' 7-2 blowout of the Leafs
In their most impressive performance so far this young season, The Rangers employed a stifling first period forecheck to jump out to an early lead and a dominating third period to absolutely hammer the visting Maple Leafs 7-2 at the Garden. The Blueshirts fifth straight victory has the club now sitting alone atop the eastern conference standings. From the get go tonight, Ryan Callahan and Chris Drury hounded the Leafs in their own zone and once Callahan scored the Rangers’ first goal at 2:34 of the first period the rout was on. Wade Redden gave the Rangers a 2-0 lead with a sharp angle blast six minutes later. The Leafs would pull to 2-1 with a late goal off a scrum in front of Henrik Lundqvist by Alexei Ponikarovsky.
The second period began with the Leafs finding their legs and playing a much more physical game than the Rangers but a quick score by Dan Girardi gave the Blueshirts another 2 goal cushion. The Leafs would not go quietly as pesky forward Jason Blake would score late to bring the Leafs back within a goal.
I’m sure Torts was not happy with the Rangers intensity in the second and let them know between periods as the team just exploded in the third to put the game out of reach. After Sean Avery put in a backhand past Vesa Toskala that was the result of some very strong work down low by Avery and the impressive Artem Anisimov, Marian Gaborik extended his own six game scoring streak one minute and 21 seconds later cashing in a rebound to give the Rangers a 5-2 lead. Henrik Lundqvist would then close the door on the overmatched Leafs and late goals by Girardi (his third goal in the last two games) and Avery (on the rejuvenated power play) put an exclamation point on a dominating performance.
Thumbs Up- Wade Redden (who had a goal and two assists tonight) is playing his best hockey since joining the Rangers last season. Chris Drury has definitely lived up to his preseason mantra of “just shut up and play” as the Captain has been a force at both ends during the five game winning streak. Artem Anisimov seems to get better each game and is showing a confidence not often seen from Rangers’ rookies of the past. The entire Rangers defense (which contributed 3 goals and 2 assists tonight) has played wonderfully and has really bought into the attacking system put in place by Torts. Henrik Lundqvist had another solid outing (despite a soft goal by Jason Blake) and showed some toughness after being run into 3 times by the Leafs.
Thumbs Down- Very tough to find any flaws in tonight’s performance but Donald Brashear a.k.a “Huggy Bear” (who did fight former Ranger Colton Orr to a draw in the first period) really needs to make his presence felt in a game where the opposition takes three unprovoked runs at Henrik Lundqvist. The Reason he was brought in by Glen Sather was to stick up for his teammates and so far he hasn’t lived up to the billing as protector of the “skill” players. The Christopher Higgins goal watch is now at 6 games and counting….
Three Stars- 3- Wade Redden- The focus of venom from Blueshirts fans all of last season and most of the offseason is finally playing the kind of hockey we all saw him play for years as a member of the Ottawa Senators. His strong, relaxed play in his own zone has allowed rookie Matt Gilroy to take some chances while getting acclimated to the NHL game and his renewed offensive output could be a huge boost for the Rangers should he be able to keep this early momentum going as the season wears on. He is still not a $6 million dollar a year player but if he keeps playing the way he has, his salary will be the last thing on the minds of the Garden faithful.
2- Sean Avery- The super pest showed once again why the Rangers are a much better team with him in the lineup. His goal early in the third pretty much broke the spirit of the Leafs and his hard work in the offensive zone throughout the game led to many scoring chances for his teammates. Avery has now had two very strong performances since his return from a knee injury that caused him to miss the first four games. Let’s hope Sean keeps up this smart but energetic play and doesn’t get caught up in the outside stimuli that has sidetracked his very effective style in the past.
1- Dan Girardi- Like Avery, Girardi had his second straight impressive performance. The player who had coach Tortorella worried following camp has more than proved he is ready to join partner Marc Staal in elevating their games to the next level. His confidence at the offensive end is at an all time high and his play is his own zone has been nothing short of excellent this season. His two goals tonight may even earn him some power play time in the near future. It’s great to see Girardi really coming into his own after his play had slipped some towards the end of last season and this could be a very exciting season for the steadily improving blue liner.
The Rangers next contest is against the Los Angeles Kings on wednesday night 7 pm at MSG.
Tags: Alexei Ponikarovsky, Artem Anisimov, blowout, Chris Drury, Christopher Higgins, Colton Orr, Contracts, Dan Girardi, Donald Brashear, first place, Glen Sather, Henrik Lundqvist, hockey, Jason Blake, John Tortorella, Madison Square Garden, Marc Staal, Marian Gaborik, Matt Gilroy, New York Rangers, NHL, Ryan Callahan, Sean Avery, Toronto Maple Leafs, Vesa Toskala, Wade Redden
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