Rangers show their rust in only warm-up before playoff
Truth be told, all that anyone truly wanted out of this exhibition match was to come out of it healthy. It appears that after a scare, the Rangers met that objective.
What else the Blueshirts accomplished in their first game in 141 days and last before Saturday’s Game 1 of the best-of-five qualifying round against Carolina, was not especially clear.
“We want to focus on getting back to where we were, and obviously at a higher level, even. We just wanted to keep moving forward and keep building and getting everything geared toward Saturday,” David Quinn said after his team’s 2-1 defeat to the Islanders in a lukewarm performance in Toronto. “I liked the first 30 minutes, I didn’t love the last 30.
“We hadn’t played a game in four months, so …”
The injury escape involved Marc Staal, the Blueshirt with 104 games of Stanley Cup playoff experience, who left the match after the second period and did not return. The alternate captain was replaced by Libor Hajek, who had gotten 3:57 through the first two periods as the seventh defenseman, but then took a regular turn the rest of the way on Tony DeAngelo’s left side.
“No, no,” Quinn said when asked if the alternate captain might miss the opener. “That was more precautionary.”
The pace was reasonably good even if the Blueshirts’ top skill guys such as Artemi Panarin and Mika Zibanejad often did look as if they were playing their first game in four-plus months. Same for Chris Kreider, who hadn’t been in a competitive situation on the ice since breaking his foot in Philadelphia on Feb. 28.
Fact is, and this is an observation rather than a critique, Panarin has been rather pedestrian since the Blueshirts officially reconvened on July 13. One presumes this is an example of a splendid athlete knowing his body and his capabilities as he builds toward Saturday, but the Rangers quite clearly are going to need their Hart Trophy finalist to hit the ice running when the puck drops just afternoon on Saturday.
When Quinn said, “Some individuals have to be better, for sure,” and when the coach said, “Some guys obviously are kind of finding their way, still, right now,” for sure he was including Panarin in that mix.
Igor Shesterkin was barely tested in his prep work for the rookie’s anticipated Game 1 start, allowing one goal on a close-range Anthony Beauvillier two-on-one midway through the second period while facing a sum of seven shots in 29:15. The Beauvillier goal, a short sider to the stick side, was created by an Andy Greene stretch pass that caught Adam Fox up ice. The goal came on the Islanders’ first shot of the period.
Henrik Lundqvist, who relieved Shesterkin, was outstanding, beaten only by Devon Toews on a right-wing wrister off the rush with under five minutes to play in the third period.
This represented a carryover from camp, throughout which the King was extremely sharp.
Lundqvist has started the Rangers’ last 127 playoff games, dating back to Game 2 of the 2006 first round against the Devils. Qualifying-round games will not be counted as playoff games, so the streak will live, technically, even if Lundqvist is on the bench when the puck drops Saturday.
Kaapo Kakko played with the same confidence and touch of swagger he displayed throughout the Blueshirts’ two-week summer camp. Quinn elevated Kakko, who has becoming a shoot-first, north-south player, to the second line with Panarin and Ryan Strome for a handful of shifts.
Thing is, the 19-year-old Finn worked very well with thirdline pivot Filip Chytil in creating second-period scoring chances against Semyon Varlamov. And it was Chytil driving to the net to bury Jesper Fast’s second shot with 3:38 remaining in the match against relief netminder Thomas Greiss to bring the Blueshirts within 2-1.
The Rangers have been a topheavy, top-six team throughout the season. If kids Kakko and Chytil can create a dangerous third line, that would most certainly change the dynamic even more so that moving the Finn permanently onto the second line. Remember, too: a defensive consciousness is often needed beside Strome and Panarin.
Saturday, a defensive consciousness will be needed against Carolina. That’s when the fun starts. Or despair.