The New York Rangers achieved their fourth consecutive victory with a 3-0 win at home over the Winnipeg Jets, and the win came courtesy of a solid performance from Martin Biron and goals from Derek Stepan and Marian Gaborik.
Jets Vs. Rangers: Solid Third Period Helps Blueshirts Pass Winnipeg
The Blueshirts win 3-0 at home over the Jets due to a shutdown third period, a three-point performance from Marian Gaborik for a fourth-straight victory and Martin Biron earning his first shutout as a Ranger.
Goaltending dominated the first period, as multiple saves were made by both Biron and Ondrej Pavelec. The Jets also took the upperhand in that first frame with the games first two power plays and only allowing the Rangers five shots. Meanwhile, Winnipeg got great looks with the man advantage, and if it weren't for Biron being on top of his game, New York would have been looking up on the scoreboard.
New York didn't look much better from the onset of the second, but earned a couple of power plays of their own. Thanks an ideal tic-tac-toe passing play from Gaborik and Michael Del Zotto on the power play, Derek Stepan was able to bank one in, giving the Blueshirts a 1-0 lead.
The third period was the start of the momentum shift for the Rangers, as just over a minute in the period, Brett Festerling went off for hooking, giving the Rangers their third power play for the game. Not much longer, the Jets sent another player to the box, giving New York 1:02 of 5-on-3 hockey. Thirty-one seconds later, yet another Jet heads to the sin bin, and New York received even more power play time. Of course, as predictable as any team with 13.6-percent power play efficiency, the Rangers did not score. They did, however, record a number of shots and got quality scoring chances -- something Winnipeg significantly lacked in this period.
Around the eight-minute mark, New York finally capitalized on offense, with Gaborik scoring a 2-on-1 play between himself and Stepan that started along the boards in their own zone. Winnipeg slowly began to fall out of competition from there, and after an empty-netter by Gaborik, they succumbed to the Rangers, 3-0. The victory here also gave Biron his first shutout as a New York Ranger, and the 27th of his career.
Winnipeg only continues to struggle, and it doesn’t help that their schedule doesn’t get easier. They face teams like Buffalo, Tampa Bay, Washington and Philadelphia within the next two weeks, but, however, they will have a chance to redeem themselves against their upcoming opponents at home, where they have only played four times since the start of the season.
The Blueshirts have now won four straight, but their power play struggles remain. Despite the goal in this game, they still have only scored on eight of 59 power play opportunities. The Rangers were able to get out of this game alive without taking advantage of their lengthy 5-on-3 against a weak penalty-killing unit, and they did not allow a goal for a team with a power play efficiency of about 19-percent. Yet, in the long run, their work on special teams will need to contribute to their victories. The chemistry between Gaborik, Brad Richards, and others will be needed to provide more convincing wins against stronger opponents.
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