New York Rangers
In Game 22 of the schedule, Chris Kreider scored twice to lead the Rangers past the Islanders 4-1, the second victory over their crosstown rival in the last three games of the month. Two days prior, the Rangers had defeated the Islanders 3-2 with Kreider netting in that game too. With the victory, the Rangers (14-4-4) ended the month with 32 points — good for sole possession of third place in the Eastern Conference. Toronto (35 pts) and Detroit (34 pts) held on to their 1st and 2nd place positions respectively. (League standings thru end of Nov).
THE GOOD
Mika Zibanejad flashed offense when it counted most, scoring twice in the Rangers 6-5 shootout victory over the East leading Maple Leafs. Unfortunately, those were the only goals that Zibanejad scored over the second half of the month.
Chris Kreider scored 5 goals over the last seven games of the month including two versus Islanders
The Rangers lowered their GAPG from 3.20 to 2.82
Ryan Strome is focused: 15 GP, 7 goals, 5 assists, 12 points, +4
The New York Rangers’ mini-winning streak of 3 games helped the club to move up in the East standings and they’ll begin the second half of November tied for third place with the Canadiens. The Maple Leafs maintain a grip on first place (29 pts) having lost just once in 16 games, and the Red Wings occupy second place with 26 points (Full standings).
The Rangers improved in keeping opponents from scoring since the start of the month, dropping their GAA from 3.20 to 3.00. Scoring dipped slightly, going from 3.50 gFP to 3.33.
THE GOOD
Artemi Panarin is on pace for 32.8 goals, on par with his last 82-game season from 2016-17 when he finished with 31 goals with the Black Hawks. Ryan Strome has never scored more than 18 goals in a season and he already has racked 7 this season which puts him on pace for 30+.
THE BAD
Mika Zibanejad has struggled. In 15 appearances he’s scored 3 goals and has a -4 plus/minus. His faceoff percentage is 47.1% (ranked 19th in East among centers with more than 284 faceoffs taken). The team’s penalty kill percentage dropped 2.4 points to 80% (ranked 23rd in NHL).
New York closed out the first half of November with a 4-3 victory over the New Jersey Devils at Prudential Center. The Rangers rallied from a 3-1 deficit to score the final three goals of the game. Defenseman Libor Hajek’s first of the season was the go-ahead goal with 1:08 remaining in the second period. Neither team found the back of the net in the final frame.
Mika Zibanejad opened the scoring 6:57 into the first period with just his third goal of the season. The Rangers defense went soft from there, allowing the Devils to rack three unanswered scores with Nikita Gusev powering home 7:21 into the second period for a 3-1 New Jersey lead. New York’s offense kicked into high gear after that, scoring on Sammy Blais’s fifth of the season and K’Andre Miller tied it with his third of the season.
Goalie Igor Shesterkin (7-2-1, 2.71 GAA) got the night off and Alexandar Georgiev did just fine starting, making 20 saves to notch his second win of the season.
New York dropped their second game in a row after a 3-2 overtime loss at home against the Calgary Flames. Center Elias Lindholm score the game-winner when he tapped in a loose puck after goalie Igor Shesterkin had made a stop but failed to contain the rebound.
After a scoreless first period, each team took turns scoring the rest of the way with Dryden Hunt lighting the lamp in the final minute of regular to tie the score 2-2.
In the final period of regulation, the Rangers tied the game 1-1 after Artimi Panarin scored his sixth of the season 9:18 into the frame. Calgary answered with a goal by Andrew Mangiapane 42 seconds later, then Hunt forced overtime with his last minute score.
The Rangers continued to come up empty on the Power Play, scoring on one of four man-advantages. They also struggled in execution — completing just 69.1% of passes against the Flames (91.0%).
The loss draws the teams even in head-to-head play. In the seventh game of the Rangers schedule, New York won 4-2 at Madison Square Garden.
In last stretch, the Rangers added to Seattle's woes with a 6-2 victory. The Kraken are tied for 8th place in the Western Conference.
The New York Rangers (6-3-1) earned 13 points through the stretch of 10 games and settled into a three-way tie for fourth place with Ottawa, and Montreal. The stretch was loaded with seven road games and the Rangers went 4-3 away from home ice.
The Rangers won their last four games that included two overtime victories. In three of the losses, the Rangers were pummeled, allowing six goals or more.
Ryan Strome scored a goal in three consecutive games (all wins) and finished the stretch with five goals (team leader). Goalie Igor Shesterkin recored just one shutout, but it was a huge 3-0 win over the formerly undefeated Toronto Maple Leafs in Game 4.
Rangers Rankings (and league best / worst)
GFPG: 3.50 (6th) — Buffalo 4.44 / NY Islanders 1.71
GAPG: 3.20 (17th) — Toronto 1.80 / Florida 4.00
PP: 20.7% (15th) — St. Louis 30.0% / NY Islander & Seattle 0.0%
PK: 82.4% (20th) — Florida 94.1% / St. Louis 60%
C/RW Ryan Strome is making a good case for being offered a contract extension. After 10 games, Strome is tied with Panarin and Fox for the most points on the Rangers (9). What sets him apart from those two players is his +4 plus/minus. The other guys (-4 and -2).
