Powerplay Leads Way Over ‘Yotes
The Rangers snapped their three game losing streak last night with a convincing win over the Phoenix Coyotes. The Rangers came out strong, with a quick goal from Artem Anisimov to get the crowd into the game. The fourth line has been jump starting the Rangers lately, as Artem Anisimov is providing the scoring touch, regardless of which wingers play on his line. After that, it was the Marian Gaborik show.
Following a Matt Lombardi hooking call, the Rangers powerplay went to work. Brandon Dubinsky took the puck from Ales Kotalik, circled through the Phoenix zone, drawing a few defenders to him, and fed the puck to a wide open Gaborik, who buried the opportunity to give the Rangers a 2-0 lead through the first.
The Rangers broke it open in the beginning of the second, with Vinny Prospal burying a weak goal on Coyotes goalie Ilya Bryzgalov, and Gaborik adding his second powerplay goal on an absolute howitzer to the top shelf, chasing Bryzgalov from the game.
The goalie change seemed to spark the Coyotes a bit, as they started an aggressive forecheck and gained control over the neutral zone. This led to two goals for the ‘Yotes, including a shorthanded goal, cutting the lead back to two goals at 4-2. The Rangers would not relinquish this two goal lead, as Enver Lisin ripped a shot past ex-Ranger Jason LaBarbera, securing the 5-2 victory.
This game was probably the most solidly played game for the Rangers in the past two weeks. It wasn’t perfect, as they slacked off a bit in the second period and allowed the ‘Yotes back into the game. But in the end, they were able to put an end to any comeback hopes and walk away with a well earned win.
By jurgenno88, October 27, 2009 @ 11:52 am
i thought it was a much better effort overall and i like the fact the kids are still, 3 weeks in, contributing. Lisin, AA, Del Zotto all made key contributions in this game.
i find the fact you see Prospals goal as weak a surprise though. Good passing, direct play and a nice move by Prospal – he made Bryglazov move. I liked the way Gaborik draws defenders to him as well, allowing the extra space for Prospal.
We have to love this PP too eh?! 33% i think over the past 10 games. What a difference an off season makes!
I’d be really confident right now if it wasnt for Drury’s line being M.I.A. offensively.
Dave Reply:
October 27th, 2009 at 2:32 pm
Prospal was on his backhand on the goal, with the puck moving towards Bryzgalov’s glove side. At that point, Bryzgalov’s paddle should be down to protect the five-hole while slide across the ice. If Prospal can backhand it across his body, and pick the corner that is left open from this, then you just tip your cap.
NYRJurgen88 Reply:
October 27th, 2009 at 4:05 pm
Dave, such is the benefit of being at the game. From my web feed quality and the camera angles i thought he went 5 hole! hence i was impressed that he made him move post to post before slotting it in.
By jurgenno88, October 27, 2009 @ 11:54 am
why doesnt this site show some of the comments sometimes? im getting a duplicate message yet cant see my original post.
Dave Reply:
October 27th, 2009 at 2:29 pm
I’ve been running into issues with the posting on the site, I don’t quite know how to fix it (it’s a WordPress template, I didn’t code it). I definitely ran into some issues with the spam blocker, I’ve had to manually approve posts which clearly weren’t spam.
NYRJurgen88 Reply:
October 27th, 2009 at 4:03 pm
no worries, they posted eventually!
By Dave, October 27, 2009 @ 4:15 pm
The issue was that Prospal did go five-hole, but Bryzgalov’s paddle wasn’t there to block it.