CUT ’EM DOWN
Blueshirts break out of funk, pound league-leading Sabres
Who the hell were those guys? As pigs flew over Broadway, the previously lifeless Rangers not only broke a five-game winless streak, but absolutely took it to the league-leading Sabres in registering a 6-2 triumph at the Garden on Thursday night. It was a sorely needed win for the Blueshirts, who were starting to see a very bleak few months in front of them if things didn’t turn around fast.
“We just needed that one as a team,” said Ryan Strome, who recorded his first two goals of the season in his first game while centering the electric Artemi Panarin. “You could tell by the emotion, I think guys don’t really care right now who scored, or who did what. That was a good ‘prove it’ to ourselves, and ‘ prove it’ to our fans.
“Feels good right now. We worked hard for that one.”
To a man, the Rangers (3-4-1) all went back to Wednesday’s practice, when they had meeting after meeting, and when coach David Quinn said his veterans “took the bull by the horns, and there were certainly some heated discussions.” But they still had to come out and do it against the Sabres (8-2-1), who might not have looked it, but were still the hottest team through the first few weeks of this season.
“It’s important to go out there and show everyone we’re not just talking,” said goalie Henrik Lundqvist, who stopped all 11 shots he faced in the third period en route to 31 saves overall. “We had a lot of meetings, we watched a lot of video. But in the end, it comes down to what you do in the game to prove it.”
What the Rangers did was finally manage to get out of their end with some efficiency, and finally take advantage of the offensive opportunities they did have. Quinn shook up his lines, separating Panarin and Mika Zibanejad for the first time this season — but the coach was also the first one to put the praise right back on the players for competing with more purpose.
“I guess [the line changes] does have something to do with it,” Quinn said, “but I was more impressed with some individuals’ mental approach.”
Finally the offense didn’t have to be shouldered by Zibanejad, as the Rangers were stout down the middle all night. Following Strome was Brett Howden, who had a goal and an assist while centering a cohesive third line with Brendan Lemieux and Jesper Fast.
But the Bread Man was the one who set the pace, as Panarin made a great individual play midway through the first period to steal the puck from a shaky Rasmus Dahlin and then slickly drag it around a poke check from goalie Carter Hutton before sliding in a backhand. It was a play that left his new linemate gawking.
“Quinny likes to change it quite a bit,” Strome said of the lines, smiling now that he has one of the elite talents on his left flank. “The most important thing is guys know their identity, guys know who they are. No matter what line you’re playing on, if you bring to the table what you were brought here for, I think we’ll be successful.”
After Panarin, it was Howden finishing in front and a Strome tip that made it 3-0 going into the second period. A Marco Scandella goal — off a bad turnover from Kaapo Kakko — was then answered by Tony DeAngelo’s third goal in the past two games to make it 4-1.
And when Vladimir Sobotka scored on a glancing deflection with 48.9 seconds left in the second to make it 4-2, the Rangers answered early in the third with Strome’s second of the night. The cherry on top was Chris Kreider finally getting of the schneid for his first goal of the season, coming on a rebound of his own shot bouncing in off a Buffalo defender.
It was that type of night, and all the ragging the Rangers took from their fans after Tuesday’s desultory performance seemed far in the past.
“It’s not fun getting booed off the ice like we did last game,” Strome said. “A good statement game.”