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The Rangers came out flying in this game and took control of the tempo early. At one point the Blueshirts held a 6-0 shot advantage over the Cats, but that soon diminished as they began to lose some steam and allowed the Panthers to gain some momentum of their own. Despite getting a powerplay and numerous chances to put the puck in the net, the Rangers were unable to get on the board, therefore the teams went to the locker rooms in a scoreless tie after the first twenty.
The second period was a complete snorefest so to the third stanza we will fast forward. It wasn't until 7:49 of the third period when Ryan Callahan and Brandon Dubinsky (seriously, who else?) connected for what turned our to be the game-winning goal. Yet again, that line fought hard along the boards to maintain control and once Callahan finally had the puck on his blade, he waited and set-up Dubinsky perfectly for the tap-in. Duballahan is one clutch duo, I can tell you that much.
Henrik Lundqvist took it from there, making a total of 22 saves on the night to earn his league-leading tenth shutout of the season. Look I really don't know what else to say about this guy. He continues to win this team games, he is allowing two or less goals past him more often that not, I mean, he is a machine. A pure machine. Depending on how far Henrik's play in net can take the Rangers, he may have a shot at the Vezina Trophy as the league's most outstanding goaltender this season.
I had a feeling that the Dubinsky-Anisimov-Callahan line was going to put at least one in because they had the Panthers on their heels all night long it seemed. They were hard on the forecheck and were causing turnovers in the offensive zone like mad. It may have taken three periods, but their relentless effort finally paid off and got them a timely hard-earned goal.
I don't want to detract from the win here, but the effort put forth at times tonight was a bit alarming. There didn't seem to be a whole lot of motivation until the third period, which is an old habit that they absolutely do not want to get into again. Wojtek Wolski was atrocious in this game, and I also wasn't too pleased with what I saw from the Prospal line with Gaborik either.
I will give them credit for not taking a single penalty in the game for the first time this season. That is pretty impressive.
However, the Rangers will be facing another weak team in the Ottawa Senators on Thursday, but an effort like tonight cannot be the gameplan going into that one. The Rangers will need a much better showing against the Sens if they want to extend the winning streak to six straight games.
But for now, they comfortably sit in seventh place in the East, three points ahead of the Sabres (8th) and three points behind the Canadiens (6th).
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