New York Rangers week ahead includes 3 games in Western Canada
The New York Rangers will spend the week in British Columbia and Alberta after winning two of three games last week, including a 2-0 win against the Seattle Kraken on Sunday in the opener of their four-game road trip.
Suffice it to say the week ended a lot better than it started.
The Rangers flunked a big early-season test on Tuesday when they lost 6-3 to the Winnipeg Jets at Madison Square Garden. The Jets were better in all facets of the game on the way to becoming the first team in NHL history to win 15 of its first 16 games.
The Garden was gloomy two nights later when the lowly San Jose Sharks opened the scoring with a fluky first-period goal. But the Rangers scored three times in the second, and Igor Shesterkin allowed only a last-minute power-play goal in a 3-2 victory. Three nights later, Jonathan Quick made 24 saves to beat the Kraken in what Rangers coach Peter Laviolette called “a really good road game.”
The Rangers (11-4-1) have played a lot of really good road games in the early going. The win in Seattle sent them into the new week with a 6-1-0 record away from the Garden; their .857 points percentage on the road is the League’s best, and their overall .719 points percentage is fifth in the NHL – although it’s only the third-best in the Metropolitan Division behind the Carolina Hurricanes (.765) and Washington Capitals (.735).
Related: 3 Rangers takeaways from 2-0 win against Kraken
Who’s hot
Quick hadn’t had consecutive shutouts in more than 13 years, but he blanked the Detroit Red Wings and the Kraken in back-to-back starts. He’s 4-0-0, has allowed a total of three goals in his four starts and is riding a shutout streak of 128:05. The 38-year-old is three wins shy of becoming the first U.S.-born goaltender to win 400 NHL games.
Will Cuylle has turned into a physical force as a third-line left wing, and he’s useful enough offensively that Laviolette is starting to find time for him on the second power-play unit, with Filip Chytil out injured. Cuylle had an assist against Seattle and also contributed a game-high 10 hits, helping the Rangers outhit the Kraken 41-19. Cuylle has 12 points (five goals, seven assists) in 16 games; he also leads the Rangers and is fifth in the NHL with 69 hits.
Artemi Panarin just keeps putting up points. His brilliant feed set up Alexis Lafreniere’s game-winning goal late in the second period Sunday and extended his point streak to seven games. He’s had at least one point in 15 of New York’s 16 games.
Who’s not
Chris Kreider has eight points, all goals, this season. He was scoreless last week and has seen less than 17 minutes of ice time in five of the past six games – and played just 14:45 in the win at Seattle on Sunday.
Related: Revisiting Rangers 5-0-0 road trip last season ahead of upcoming journey west
Rangers lookahead this week includes …
Playing games 2-3-4 of a hectic stretch that will see them take the ice eight times in a 14-day stretch. The one good thing about their trip west this week is that there are no back-to-back games.
Rangers at Vancouver Canucks (Nov. 19, 10 p.m. ET; MSG)
The Rangers begin their week in Western Canada in a city where they’ve fared well over the years. New York is 40-20-1 with three ties in Vancouver, including victories in their past two visits. Overall, New York is 84-37-2 with eight ties against the Canucks, who entered the NHL in 1970.
It’s the third game in four nights and fourth in six – all at home – for the Canucks. Vancouver is 9-5-3 despite being without No. 1 goalie Thatcher Demko all season because of a knee issue. Longtime NHL backup Kevin Lankinen has been their savior; he has an 8-3-2 record despite losing his past two decisions. But he’s never beaten the Rangers — 0-3-0 with a 5.30 GAA and .820 save percentage against them. J.T. Miller, New York’s first-round pick in the 2011 NHL Draft, has fared well against his former team. Miller has seven goals and 13 points in 13 games – including one goal in each of their two meetings last season.
Rangers at Calgary Flames (Nov. 21, 9 p.m. ET; MSG)
Calgary has never been a pleasant stopover for the Rangers, although they did win 3-1 at Scotiabank Saddledome last season, ending a four-game losing streak in that building. They are 10-20-2 with seven ties in Calgary since the Flames moved there from Atlanta for the 1980-81 season and 36-35-2 with nine ties overall in that time.
The Flames have been off since Friday, when they shut out the visiting Nashville Predators 2-0 to improve to 9-6-3. Offense has been a problem for Calgary; defenseman Rasmus Andersson leads the team with 11 points in 18 games and Jonathan Huberdeau is tops with six goals. The reason for the Flames’ good start after missing the Stanley Cup Playoffs last season has been the goaltending, especially Dustin Wolf, who has excelled so far in his first full NHL season. The 23-year-old, taken in the seventh round of the 2019 draft, is 6-2-1 with a 2.53 GAA, .921 save percentage and the shutout against Nashville. Running mate Dan Vladar has also been solid (3-4-2, 2.65 GAA, .906 save percentage).
Rangers at Edmonton Oilers (Nov. 23, 10 p.m. ET; MSG)
Saturday night brings the Rangers to Rogers Place, where they’ve won their past two visits – including a 29-save shutout by Quick in a 3-0 win last Oct. 26.
Connor McDavid has 19 points (six goals, 13 assists) in 13 career games against the Rangers. His longtime running mate, Leon Draisaitl, has averaged a point a game – 18 points (seven goals, 11 assists) in 18 games, but three of the goals were game-winners.
Igor Shesterkin has faced the Oilers just twice in his career. He’s 1-1-0 but has a 3.88 GAA and .869 save percentage. Quick, who spent most of his career with the Los Angeles Kings, a Pacific Division rival of the Oilers, has excelled against Edmonton – he’s 25-12-6 with a 2.18 GAA, .921 save percentage and four shutouts, so don’t be surprised if he gets the start.
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