Out of all the games where the New York Rangers needed a win, this was it. It has been a very eventful few days for this unit after the poor performance against the Las Vegas Golden Knights and Filip Chytil suffering a setback in his concussion injury. A positive had to come out of this tough time, and well, the Blueshirts responded well as they defeated the Ottawa Senators 7-2. Many stood out for the Blueshirts; after all, they scored seven goals, but three stood out from the bunch.
3. K’Andre Miller is the obvious weak link
K’Andre Miller did not have a good game. In fact, he is the main reason why Ottawa scored the first goal of the game. He made a bad decision and a bad pass and it gave the Senators a 1-0 lead. That blunder leading directly to a goal is just something that can’t be ignored and it stood out.
2. Zac Jones steps up for the Rangers’ defense
With Ryan Lindgren’s injury and Jacob Trouba’s two-game suspension, the Blueshirts were in a tough situation defensively. A lot of players had to step up, and the one player that impressed the most was Zac Jones.
Jones was serviceable on defense but via offense. He scored his first goal of the season and made a key assist on Jonny Brodzinski’s goal. Jones has excellent offensive instincts, and tonight showcased how he still has a ton of potential on this team.
At the age of 23, if he can consistently improve his defensive skills, the Rangers could have something in Jones.
1. Panarin goes Yeast Mode Again
Roses are red, violets are blue, and Artemi Panarin stands out in a hockey game too.
He is having a career year with the team and once again had a multi-point game. The thing that stood out was the goal that he scored in this game, marking his 30th of the season.
Now, that is an amazing achievement for Panarin, who went into Yeast Mode in this game with one goal and two assists. Hopefully, Panarin can keep playing this well and continue to stand out for the Blueshirts.