Rangers win one in a row! De-claw Panthers 5-2

Winning streaks don’t last forever.  But when they end – the important thing is not to go on a losing streak.  Your faithful pal Dave Pucks went on a losing streak in Atlantic City on New Years eve – and I woke up about an hour ago in a Motel 6 in Camden New Jersey with basically no idea how I got here.  The really weird part about this is that I somehow ended up with $300 dollars in my pocket – and I only had $150 when I left for the casino some 24 hours ago.

Maybe I could give financial advice – but I don’t remember what happened.   I also don’t remember getting this Sean Avery tatoo.

(Editor – Dave, why don’t you talk about the Ranger game.)

(Dave Pucks – yeah – I guess you’re right.)

Okay.  As I was saying a few paragraphs ago – the Rangers had won 8 games in a row – followed by a 3-2 defeat by the Dallas Stars.  So the big thing was – could they get themselves right back on track – or were they going to start on a losing streak.

So – on the last night of 2014 – our heroes headed down to Florida to take on the Panthers.  And on a night where they were road weary – and when their top score Rick Nash was blanked – the Ranger rose up for 5 goals and a great bounce back win.

Chris Kreider – who’s play has been steadily on the rise the past few games - got us on the board snapping a rebound past Al Montoya for the 1-0 lead.

In the 2^nd – McDonagh led the team into the offensive and rocketed a shot off Montoya – who again gave up a big rebound.  This time Brassard popped it in the net for 2-0.

And later in the period McDonagh fired an absolute missile from the point – the kind of shot we’ve been waiting all year for – and it was 3-0.  If you’re like me – you believe that the Ranger Captain was hurting in last year’s playoffs and is now – finally – getting all his health and power back.

Now – this is our Rangers – so of course it went from 3-0 to 3-2 mid way through the 3^rd.      But then – on a mad scramble in front – Marty St. Louis tried to kick the puck to his stick.  But the puck instead hit Montoya’s pad.  And the Panther’s goalie – trying to get his legs under him – inadvertently pushed the puck into his own net.  They looked at it in Toronto – but the goal stands.  There was a distinct kicking motion – but not towards the net.  The puck was heading towards St. Louis’ stick when Montoya essentially scored on himself.  A huge goal and the backbreaker for Florida.

And finally – with 4 minutes and change – St. Louis stole the puck and was on a breakaway.  Traveling two thirds of the length of the ice – Marty was stopped by Montoya.  But – in a recurring theme for the evening – another big rebound found another Ranger.  This time it was Dominic Moore – and he netted the final tally 5-2.

Three assist for Stepan, and single assists for Klein, Kreider, St. Louis, McDonagh, and Hagalin.  Hank saved 18 of 20 shots.  His save percentage was 0.900% - not great – but good enough to win when the team can score.  We outshot the Panthers 34-20 – and when you do that and have Lundqvist you're going to win games.

Did Special Teams Determine The Outcome?   Not really.  Rangers were 1 for 2 on the PowerPlay and 2 for 3 on the kill. 

Where Do We Stand?  Those damned Capitals are as hot as we are with only 1 regulation loss in their last ten.  So they have 3^rd place in the Metro with 1 more point than the Rangers – but we hold two games at hand.  Our spot is the 8^th and last spot – the wild card – with 44 points and a 2 game lead above the line of death.

What Next?  A few days off and then the Sabres come to New York for Saturday night.

And as for Dave Pucks – I’ll be sleeping off a hangover and heading home.

As soon as I find my pants.