Hartnett: Rangers Put Biggest Questions To Rest In Win Over Bruins
By Sean Hartnett
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The Rangers answered the three biggest questions about their team in Wednesday's 3-2 home victory over the Boston Bruins.
Of course, the biggest question was whether backup goaltender Cam Talbot could provide inspirational play in the absence of Henrik Lundqvist. At this point it's unclear how long King Henrik will be out with a neck injury. Head coach Alain Vigneault described him as "day-to-day" following the game.
Vigneault admitted it's "possible" that Lundqvist won't travel to Nashville for Saturday night's game against the Predators. He also said that if Lundqvist is unable to play this weekend, Talbot will start in back-to-back games this weekend.
In the event that Lundqvist's injury causes him to miss extended time, Talbot says he's ready for the added responsibility.
"It's an opportunity for me to go in there and prove I can shoulder the load and hopefully get a few big wins for us," Talbot said.
For however long Lundqvist is out, the Rangers are in good hands with Talbot manning the fort. The confident 27-year-old netminder has proven throughout the past two seasons that he's capable of performing like a No. 1 goalie.
"Everyone in this room has the utmost confidence in Talbs," alternate captain Marc Staal said. "He's shown it over the last few years, the talent he has and the way he can play. He showed that again tonight and that's great for us."
Vigneault described Talbot as "mentally strong." Captain Ryan McDonagh praised the backup for his ability to keep his focus after surrendering goals.
"He was big," McDonagh said. "He found out on short notice. Like I've said many times, he's very calm in there, very composed. He's good at playing the puck and continuing to play in the right spots. Even if he gives up a goal, he stays in the zone and continues to battle. For us, it's no different if Hank or Talbot is in there."
CLEANING UP DEFENSIVE ZONE SLOPPINESS
In the five games leading into Wednesday night, the Rangers had become careless with the puck in their own zone. Vigneault admitted that the turnovers were coming without opponent pressure -- which against any team is unacceptable. The Rangers were playing with fire over that stretch and needed to correct their bad habits before meeting a Bruins team loaded with offensive firepower.
"I would say that turnovers happening under almost no pressure, which is not very characteristic of that group," Vigneault said on Tuesday. "For whatever reason it's happened a couple of times at obviously not the best of moments. But they're very aware of it and I'm confident that it's going to get better. In this game, you won't be perfect every game. It's just impossible."
The Rangers fixed their trend of sloppy first-period starts. After the first five minutes, the Blueshirts settled down and controlled the pace of the game.
"On that stretch in the first, we got beat on a couple, but the majority of the game I thought we carried the pace, controlled the puck and made good decisions," McDonagh said Wednesday.
RANGERS' SPEED GAME CAUSES PROBLEMS FOR BRUINS
A question raised repeatedly by MSG analysts Dave Maloney and Ron Duguay was whether the Rangers' lack of size would hurt them in matchups against big-bodied teams like the Bruins. There have been a lot of calls for general manager Glen Sather to acquire bigger, bulkier forwards.
But the Rangers don't need to overhaul their roster in an attempt to copy the blueprint of "The Big, Bad Bruins." Since Vigneault has taken over behind the bench, the New York has won by being a possession-strong speed team that can win the puck back through a combination of fast legs and pressure.
On Wednesday night, the Rangers' speed game caused all kinds of problems for slow-footed Boston. Rick Nash and Chris Kreider have plenty of size, but it was their speed that killed the Bruins. Nash, Kreider, Carl Hagelin & Co. absolutely torched the Bruins. The stretch pass by Martin St. Louis to Nash on the game's opening goal (his league-leading 32nd) at 5:50 into the first period is exactly the kind of play that makes the Rangers such a dangerous, quick-strike team.
"He's scary to try to defend against," Talbot said of Nash. "He can put in the puck from anywhere."
Boston's size advantage was a non-factor for the entirety of Wednesday's game. Maybe it's the Bruins that need to become a bit more like the Rangers.
"We were playing with good speed and making a lot of things happen in the offensive zone," McDonagh said. "We did a better job tonight consistently getting through the zone, playing in the offensive zone with our speed, cycle game and using the point. Spreading them out was a big factor."
Jesper Fast is the perfect example of a player who can be highly effective without a massive physical frame. You could even say that he is slightly undersized at 6-foot-0 and 185 pounds.
Fast has excelled in his first full season with the Rangers. He's a favorite of Vigneault because of his growing defensive zone responsibility, acceleration and ability to make the most of his size. Fast finished the game with a team-high seven hits and performed exceptionally on the penalty kill, logging 1:36 in shorthanded ice time.
McDONAGH: 'WE THINK WE HAVE GOTTEN BETTER HERE EVERY GAME'
The Rangers have now won three straight games. McDonagh sees the Blueshirts trending in the right direction.
"We think we have gotten better here every game," McDonagh said. "This is pretty close (to how we want to be playing)."
The 30-15-4 Rangers are now one point behind the second-place Islanders and trail the division-leading Pittsburgh Penguins by two points. They have one game in hand over the Isles and two games in hand over the Pens.
Follow Sean on Twitter — @HartnettHockey.
