The New York Rangers had an impressive 2-0 victory over the Anaheim Ducks on Saturday night with a couple of players jumping out in particular.
Going into this matchup, the Rangers were coming off of a 3-1 loss to the Panthers, so a bounce back performance was necessary.
While the Rangers played well through two periods, the score remained 0-0 until the final frame when Ryan Lindgren and Will Cuylle scored to propel New York to a win.
This night could have gone way differently if it weren’t for Jonathan Quick.
The veteran goaltender made 32 saves on 33 shots while delivering down the stretch with some big stops.
Throughout the entirety of the contest, Quick just looked sharp and really helped the Rangers maintain momentum when the game was scoreless.
Quick now holds a 2-0 record and is off to a phenomenal start this season.
“I thought he was solid,” Peter Laviolette said. “That’s two for him now. He’s had back-to-back really strong games now. That’s fantastic coming off not playing for a few games. This shouldn’t surprise anybody, he is a world class goalie.”
Artemi Panarin proved that he is as good as a superstar player could be.
The 32-year-old was in command offensively. With the puck on his stick Panarin was magical, creating multiple offensive chances and setting up Lindgren for the winning goal.
Through eight games, Panarin already has recorded six goals, nine assists and 15 points as he is on pace for a historic season.
“I thought the puck seemed to be on his stick an awful lot tonight,” Laviolette said. “We are trying to get him out there as much as we can. You can see the puck is on his stick a lot.”
Filip Chytil is another player that was impressive.
He uses his speed to translate to his offensive game, which has been the most noticeable part of his game.
Chytil is balancing out the Rangers’ forward core as he’s elevated the team’s third line to new heights.
“You want your center to be driving the line and he’s been great all year, he just flies. It seems like he gets a breakaway every game,” Will Cuylle said. “He kind of drives the whole team up the ice, it’s great.”
The Rangers will have a two day break before playing the Washington Capitals on Tuesday night.
