Less than an hour before the game begun, the new additions made their way into the locker room. While quickly getting dressed, Derick Brassard and John Moore introduced themselves to their new teammates. The New York Rangers had a new face last night with the newly acquired additions as a result of the Marian Gaborik trade. While the squad most likely hoped to stimulate some offense that has been lacking, the team most likely did not expect a 6-1 blowout against the number one team in the conference.
It seems that the Rangers will not be missing Marian Gaborik after the performance displayed against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Wednesday night
The first period, had a tremendous impact on the play throughout the rest of the game. The Rangers came out on a great foot, most likely inspired by the change of personnel amongst the team. While the Rangers have been 2-23 in power play opportunities in the last 11 games, the team was 3-for-3 in Wednesday night’s game. The power play is looking more like the power play we saw last season, and the team looked more energized than ever.
The first goal of the night came on the power play. Brassard held the puck on the left half wall then dished it back to the point where Brian Boyle let one go that rifled past Marc-Andre Fleury.
The second goal came within two minutes later. Ryane Clowe won the puck off the boards and sent it back in deep into the offensive zone. Brad Richards picked up the puck, and got the pass off to incoming Ryan McDonagh in the high slot. McDonagh wristed the puck and sent it top shelf on the Penguin goaltender.
Clowe had secondary assists on both Ranger goals thus far. At 14:19 in the first, Clowe tallied his first goal as a Ranger and his first goal of the season. Derek Stepan forced the Penguins to turn over the puck behind the net. Clowe picked up the puck by the left goal post and performed a quick wrap around move to put the puck past Fleury and to up the Blueshirt lead to three.
(Getty Images)
Just when you thought the scoring might slow down, think again. Ryane Clowe moved the puck back to Dan Girardi at the right point, and sent it rifling towards the net. The puck deflected off Fleury, and Brassard kept a strong presence in front of the net and capitalized on the rebound to make it 4-0 New York.
The Penguins answered with one goal for the night coming in the second period. Robert Bortuzzo fired the puck from the blue line towards the net. Pascal Dupuis cashed in on a puck that went over trickling over the stick of Carl Hagelin in front. Penguins cut the deficit to three, but that would be the last time the Penguins got on the board Wednesday night.
The Blueshirts were granted a third power play opportunity in the second period. At 11:52 the Blueshirts made it 3-for-3 on power play goals for the night with a second goal coming from Clowe.
The final goal of the night came at 9:47 in the third period. Brian Boyle passed the puck back to the left point where the newly acquired, John Moore, rifled the puck towards the net. The puck snuck under Fleury to seal the night off and gain the Ranger a much needed 2 points and solid win against a talented team.
(JEFF Z. KLEIN)
The news guys helped the Rangers find a way to get the puck in the back of the net last night. This just goes to show, if this style of play withstands, the Rangers will be well on their way to playoffs and no telling what this squad can do from there.
Kaitlin Sullivan
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