Dec 16, 2023; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; New York Rangers goaltender Igor Shesterkin (31) watches the puck in front of Boston Bruins center Morgan Geekie (39) during the first period at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports
Rangers Recall: Good defense leads to weekend sweep over Ducks and Bruins
The New York Rangers buckled down after several abysmal defensive performances and came away with a sweep of this weekend’s back-to-back set.
Coming off an embarrassing 7-3 slap to the face by the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Blueshirts got back to playing defense first and owning the neutral zone. That led to a 5-1 win over the lowly Anaheim Ducks on Friday, followed by a thrilling 2-1 comeback victory in OT over the Boston Bruins.
I thought our guys played really well,” coach Peter Laviolette said on Saturday. “We just stayed with it and eventually got one to send it to overtime to walk away with two points.”
By beating Boston, the Rangers now tie them with 43 points, but hold first place in the Eastern Conference thanks to wins (21 to 19). Let’s take a look at some key takeaways over the weekend.
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Rangers Recall: Sound defense leads to wins
Rangers Return to Form
Prior to this weekend, the Rangers were struggling to keep the puck out of their net. Aside from an excellent performance against the Los Angeles Kings in a 4-1 win, they were 1-3-0 and were outscored 17-5 in those three losses.
A lot of emphasis was placed on Igor Shesterkin and his struggles. After getting trounced by the Leafs last Tuesday, the dejected starter was at a complete loss for words regarding his play. “I don’t know what to say to you. Sorry,” he shrugged.
Of course, the Rangers weren’t giving him any help as their trend of giving up numerous odd-man rushes and high-danger chances hit rock-bottom. That changed over the weekend as New York got back to being effective in the neutral zone by limiting the number of odd-man rushes against. In their own zone, they worked as a 5-man unit to keep the middle of the ice clear and high-danger shots to a more manageable number.
“The last week of so, it’s been a little inconsistent,” captain Jacob Trouba remarked after beating Boston. “I think that game, that’s our team out there and what we want to be known as. The quality of chances were limited and Igor made a couple of big saves. It’s a good game for us to play midway through the season.”
