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Hartnett: Rangers' Third Line Set The Tone During Season-Opening Victory

By Sean Hartnett
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The Rangers' newly formed third line of J.T. Miller, Oscar Lindberg and Viktor Stalberg produced a dominant performance in Wednesday's season-opening 3-2 victory over the defending Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks.

On their first shift, the trio used speed and vision to torment the Blackhawks. Rushing down ice on a 3-on-2, Miller set up Lindberg for a one-timer. The rookie center beat Corey Crawford with a high shot to give the Blueshirts the lead less than two minutes in.

There were questions about whether Lindberg could carry his strong preseason performance into the regular season against the formidable Hawks in a tough road environment. The young Swede answered the call, repeating all the positive traits.

Lindberg looked the part with his fast legs and alert play in all areas of the ice. The 6-foot-1 center finished his season debut with a goal, three shots on goal, two hits, and was a plus-2 in 13:53 of ice time. He excelled at the dot, winning six of nine faceoffs.

Speaking before the Rangers departed for Chicago, Stalberg hit the nail on the head by declaring that Lindberg would not be fazed by the escalating regular season tempo.

"He's been great," Stalberg said. "It's been a pleasure playing with him for quite a few games. He's been solid in both ends throughout training camp, made plays and scored some goals. For him, the biggest thing is to keep his composure and not get rushed into things. He's got good vision and good poise with the puck. The regular season is going to be higher paced, but I don't think there's going to be any issues. He's been really good so far."

Stalberg has quickly established himself as an Alain Vigneault favorite because of his determined style of play, speed and physicality. On Monday, Vigneault praised the 29-year-old's desire.

"One of the things that caught our eye right off the hop, he never slipped by an opportunity to take a guy out," Vigneault said. "He finishes checks, and that's an important part of forechecking and wearing the opposition down. He's been very, very effective. You can tell he's hungry and wants to compete."

"I've heard he's been positive, that's always a good sign," Stalberg said of Vigneault's remarks. "I felt like I had a good camp and showed what I can do to make a difference for this team. It's always nice to see the coach appreciate it. I want to keep building on it and try to get better."

Stalberg was a big factor against his former Blackhawks teammates. He finished his first regular season game as a Ranger with an assist, recorded two hits, blocked two shots, and logged a plus-2 rating.

Last week, Stalberg chatted about his discussions with Glen Sather. The president and former general manager of the Rangers, current GM Jeff Gorton and the coaching staff told Stalberg that they were excited about speed element he brings.

"I talked to Glen and a couple of the other guys in the summer when I signed here, that's one of the things they really liked about my game," Stalberg said. "I can bring that element to this team. They have a lot of guys who bring that speed element. The more of us there is, the harder it is to contain. It creates some mismatches out there and makes it tough on other teams to check some guys."

After former KHL star Artemi Panarin evened the contest at 1-1, Miller demonstrated heads-up vision in the corner on a delayed penalty, showing excellent poise and control, working the puck patiently with defenseman Kevin Klein. Miller then dished to Keith Yandle, who fed Klein for a one-timer that beat Crawford top shelf to put the Rangers ahead.

It was Miller's second assist of the night. The 22-year-old played a mistake-free game after Vigneault spent much of the preseason demanding that he improve his defensive zone play and make higher percentage plays. If Miller continues the traits he showed in the opener, Vigneault will have no complaints. He finished the game with two assists, three assists and was a plus-2.

Kevin Hayes would later lift a pass from behind the net to allow Derek Stepan to score into an empty net as Crawford was pulled out of position. The goal was further evidence of the Rangers' speed game causing havoc. Chris Kreider jetted down ice to get on the end of the loose puck that led to the opportunity.

Concerning for the Rangers was the play of veteran defenseman Dan Boyle, who was particularly slow and at fault on the Panarin goal. Boyle saw very little ice time in the third period. You wonder how much patience Vigneault will have with Boyle, who looked poor throughout the preseason. Youngster Dylan McIlrath was a healthy scratch on Wednesday and demonstrated shutdown potential and hints of evolving into a complete defenseman during the preseason.

With Wednesday's game being the first of three in four nights, the Rangers will need to iron out their defensive frailties and sloppy puck management pronto. Their fast-track first period start covered up their defensive blemishes.

Follow Sean on Twitter at @HartnettHockey 

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