Jonathan Quick excels for Rangers in 2-0 victory against Seattle Kraken
Jonathan Quick made it four wins in as many starts for the New York Rangers this season with his second straight shutout, stopping 24 shots in a 2-0 victory against the Seattle Kraken on Sunday at Climate Pledge Arena in the opener of a four-game road trip.
The 38-year-old hadn’t played since making 37 saves in a 4-0 road win over the Detroit Red Wings eight days earlier, and coach Peter Laviolette has said he wants to give Quick more work as the season progresses. Quick’s play in his 397th NHL win, the most by a U.S.-born goalie, will help his bid for more playing time.
It was Quick’s 62nd career shutout — and the first time he’s had consecutive shutouts since Oct. 18-22, 2011, when he was starring for the Los Angeles Kings. He’s gone 128:05 without allowing a goal.
“You don’t really put too much thought into it,” he said. “You’re honored to have those numbers. At the end of the day, as a goalie, you’re very dependent on your team in front of you.
“All those numbers really mean is I’ve played with some great players and teams that value winning more than anything. I consider myself very grateful and lucky to have played with all those guys over the course of my career.”
Alexis Lafreniere’s goal at 17:30 of the second period broke up a goaltending duel between Quick and Seattle’s Phillip Grubauer. Artemi Panarin picked off a pass along the left wall, looked up, found Lafreniere alone in front and zipped a pass for an easy tap-in.
“I didn’t have to do much,” Lafreniere told MSG Network between periods. “It was a great play by him.”
Zac Jones made it 2-0 at 2:58 of the third period, beating an off-balance Grubauer from the left circle for his first of the season
The Rangers improved to 6-1-0 on the road this season and are 6-0-1 all-time against the Kraken, who entered the NHL in 2021-22. They won despite not getting a power play, something that hadn’t happened since they beat the Arizona Coyotes 8-5 on March 30.
“It was a low-event game, not a lot of chances,” Laviolette said. “I liked the fact that we stayed with it. This was a really good road game.”
Related: Rangers notebook: Filip Chytil’s injury absence changes Rangers look on PP2
New York Rangers 2 – Seattle Kraken 0
Quick made the two best saves of the fast-moving but scoreless first period (there were just 11 face-offs), robbing Jaden Schwartz with just over six minutes remaining following a giveaway and stopping a wide-open Brandon Tanev from the slot with 20 seconds remaining. The Rangers outshot the Kraken 9-6, but their best scoring chance technically wasn’t a shot on goal – Ryan Lindgren’s straightaway 55-footer hit a body in front and beat Grubauer but pinged off the post.
Lindgren took the game’s lone penalty, a holding call at 17:25. But the Rangers, who entered the night No. 2 in the NHL on the penalty kill at 88.0 percent, not only held Seattle without a shot but forced Grubauer to make a good save when Mika Zibanejad set up Chris Kreider for a rip from the right circle.
The Rangers generated nothing in the first half of the second period, spending almost no time in the offensive zone and failing to get a shot on goal for more than 11 minutes. Meanwhile, Quick robbed Schwartz again five minutes in and got his right pad in front of Chandler Stephenson’s stuff try at the right post with less than six minutes left.
But New York’s play perked up in the final stages of the period, culminating in Lafreniere’s seventh goal of the season. The goal stretched Lafreniere’s point streak to four games; the assist extended Panarin’s points streak to seven and gave him at least one point in 15 of the Rangers’ 16 games.
K’Andre Miller broke up what could have been a breakaway for Tanev in the final 15 seconds of the period to send the Rangers into the locker room up 1-0.
“It was a great play by him,” Laviolette said.
Jones started and finished the play that led to the second goal. He carried the puck out of his own zone, kept on going and picked up a pass from Kaapo Kakko. The young defenseman moved into the left circle, Grubauer never got set and Jones’ shot got through him to double the lead.
The Rangers gave Quick plenty of defensive help after that by continuing to attack and put pressure on Grubauer.
The Rangers, now 11-4-1, continue their trip Tuesday night against the Vancouver Canucks.
More About:New York Rangers News
Read This Next
