VANCOUVER, B.C. — The Rangers are currently reaching their stride.
They continued their offensive dominance with a 6-4 victory over the Canucks at Rogers Arena on Wednesday, their sixth consecutive victory. Incredibly, the Rangers have scored 18 goals in their last three games and 31 goals over their current winning run.
The onslaught of goals is a promising sign and has allowed them to maintain pace in the Metropolitan Division behind the Hurricanes and Devils. This scoring has been essential, given that they have conceded 17 goals in their last six games.
The Rangers were anticipated to have a simple job putting the puck aside against Arturs Silovs, who was making his NHL debut for Vancouver. They did so. The Rangers scored six or more goals for the 11th time this season and third time in a row.
After scoring one of his two goals in the Rangers’ 6-4 victory over the Canucks, Artemi Panarin (No. 10) celebrates with his teammates.
Through Getty Images, NHLI
However, they allowed the Canucks to linger around due to shaky defense at times and Igor Shesterkin’s off-night. It was a similar story to last week, when the Rangers defeated the Canucks 4-3 at Madison Square Garden. Shesterkin stopped 25 of 29 shots he faced on Wednesday, but the Rangers allowed the Canucks too many opportunities to score.
Nonetheless, the Rangers have been able to compensate for their defensive deficiencies by being a puck-possessing powerhouse.
Throughout the Rangers’ victory, Chris Kreider scores on Arturs Silvos.
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Artemi Panarin stated he felt on a different level following his four-goal performance against the Hurricanes on Saturday, as well as the Rangers’ recent addition of his friend and countryman, Vladimir Tarasenko, and he displayed this on Wednesday. Panarin scored two goals in the first period, giving him five and six goals in the last two games. During his current five-game point run, he has accumulated 11 points.
Three goals were scored by the new top line of Chris Kreider, Mika Zibanejad, and Tarasenko, who flew all over the ice and constantly posed a danger. Zibanejad scored a goal in the first period before Kreider scored his 251st goal as a Ranger to surpass Mark Messier for seventh-most goals in franchise history 50 seconds into the second period to give the Rangers a 4-2 lead.
Mika Zibanejad celebrates his first of two goals in the Rangers’ triumph.
AP
After K’Andre Miller scored with less than seven minutes remaining in the second period to give the Rangers a two-goal advantage to open the third, Andrei Kuzmenko scored with less than 11 minutes remaining in regulation to keep the Canucks on the Rangers’ heels. His strike from between the tops of the circles sailed beyond Shesterkin’s glove, a type of shot that the Russian goalie typically blocks.
With 1:34 remaining, Zibanejad scored an empty-netter to give the Rangers some breathing room.
K’Andre Miller (right) celebrates his goal in the Rangers’ victory with captain Jacob Trouba and Alexis Lafreniere.
AP
Despite a sluggish first period, likely caused by the Rangers’ three-day gap between games compared to the Canucks’ one-day gap, they still scored three goals on Silovs.
The Canucks maintained parity with the Rangers and took advantage of their opportunities. Less than five minutes into the game, Curtis Lazar opened the scoring by sinking a loose rebound that Shesterkin was unable to control. However, Zibanejad responded for the Rangers 59 seconds later on the rush before Panarin blasted a one-timer off Jimmy Vesey’s pass.
Later in the first period, with Alexis Lafreniere in the penalty box for hooking, J.T. Miller’s one-timer from the right face-off circle tied the game at two. The Rangers regained the lead at 15:36 of the opening period when Panarin tipped in a point shot by Niko Mikkola.
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