DETROIT – After a truly terrible performance in their previous game Thursday, the Rangers were desperate for a bounce-back performance and a win on Saturday night.
But everything they struggled with over the past two weeks remained a problem. They struggled to get the puck out of their zone, and when they got it in the offensive zone, they couldn’t keep it there. And they were far too dependent on their goalkeeper.
Nevertheless, the Rangers somehow managed to sneak out of Little Caesars Arena with a 4-0 victory despite leading 37-24. According to Natural Stat Trick, the scoring odds were 44-24 in favor of the Red Wings, including 16-8 of the dangerous variety.
“You know, we found a way to win, right?” said goaltender Jonathan Quick, who made 37 saves in his first shutout of the season and the 61st of his career. “They had a loss last night (in Toronto); they came out with haste. “We found a way to get that first goal, block shots when we needed to and take advantage of the chances we had, especially in the second period.”
This is the 17th consecutive season in which Quick, 38, has recorded a shutout.
“It’s the first time I’ve heard of it,” he said when asked what the streak means to him. “So I didn’t really think about it. I think I’ve had a good team in front of me for seventeen years, right?”
The Rangers (9-3-1) wouldn’t have had a chance to win without Quick, who kept them in the game until they got goals from Jimmy Vesey and Artemi Panarin 48 seconds apart late in the second period. 3-0.
“It’s good to get two points and get the win to get back on track,” coach Peter Laviolette said. “I thought the third period was our best period. First period, towards the end we got going a bit. I thought the first period and the second period weren’t that good. . . but overall the recovery and getting a win is good.”
Quick, who played the final 25:57 in relief of Igor Shesterkin in Thursday’s 6-1 loss to Buffalo, got his third start of the season and his second against the Red Wings on the road. He came under pressure on the opening shift of the match, as he was forced to spread out and make a great save on Alex DeBrincat just 21 seconds later.
This set the tone early on. The Rangers were down 4-0 in three shifts and seemed to be on their tails most of the night.
“Yeah, I mean, there’s a good opportunity there, but they’re a talented team,” Quick said. “You know they’re going to create something, so you go in, open the draw and be ready for what they’re going to throw at you.”
The Red Wings (6-7-1) had lost 3-1 to the Maple Leafs on Friday night in Toronto and started goaltender Ville Husso, who was called up from the minor leagues on Thursday due to an injury to Alex Lyon.
However, they dominated the game when Simon Edvinsson was called for a tripping penalty on Mika Zibanejad at 13:06 of the first period. Seven seconds later, Chris Kreider tapped in a shot from Adam Fox to make it 1-0.
The Rangers then picked up their game again and left the period with their lead intact, but got absolutely suffocated in the second period, stuck in their own zone for most of the period and couldn’t get the puck out consistently for the first 15 or 16 . minutes.
They were outshot 19-8 in the period, but survived a Ryan Lindgren penalty as Quick made three saves and Dylan Larkin hit the goal post.
Soon after, the Rangers finally started to move the puck out of their zone and gain some traction. The fourth line gave them a goal when Sam Carrick sent a pass from behind the net to the slot, which Vesey knocked in at 16:52 for his first goal of the season.
“We came out of our end, got through the neutral zone, some edges of a forecheck, and they lost coverage,” Vesey said of the play. “I was able to find myself alone and up front, and Sam played great. I just shot it as hard as I could.”
On the next shift, Zibanejad came from behind the net and sent a diagonal pass to Panarin in the right circle. He beat Husso at 5:40 for his 10th goal to extend the lead to 3–0.
They made it 4-0 when the Red Wings pulled Husso with 4:10 to go and Reilly Smith scored into the empty net.
Colin Stephenson covers Rangers for Newsday. He has covered the NHL and virtually every sports team in the New York metropolitan area for more than two decades.
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