Rangers 3, Blackhawks 2 – Recap

Scoring

1^st Period

1:43 NYR Lindberg. Assists: Miller, Stalberg

14:24 CHI Panarin. Assists: Kane, Hjalmarsson

16:38 NYR Klein. Assists: Yandle, Miller

19:01 NYR Stepan. Assists: Hayes, Kreider

2^nd Period

6:55 CHI Teräväinen. Assists: Hossa, Toews

3^rd Period

None

Penalties

1^st Period

6:19 NYR Zuccarello: 2 min. – Hooking against Toews

2^nd Period

None

3^rd Period

18:41 CHI Shaw: 2 min. – Roughing against Yandle

18:41 NYR Yandle: 2 min. – Cross checking against Shaw

 

The Hawks had a slow start and it killed them. The Rangers controlled the action for most of the first and, while the Hawks clearly outplayed the Rangers the rest of the way, it just wasn’t enough. It might have been if they hadn’t had a goal taken away from them, but it is what it is. They had plenty of good chances, but unfortunately were just up against one of the best goaltenders in the world.

As for the Hawks’ goaltender – he was mostly fine. His first period wasn’t great, but those goals weren’t all his fault. The team didn’t do him many favors defensively. Hjalmarsson and Seabrook were both very good. Keith had a couple biffs, but nothing catastrophic and was otherwise good as well. TVR and Daley were meh. Rundblad was awful. The Hawks have got to come up with a better idea than him for that sixth spot. If Pokka’s healthy, I vote for him. (I’m fully aware I don’t actually get a vote.) I’d give Svedberg a shot. Or Cumiskey. Or Q could come out of retirement and take the spot himself. Heck, if you’re reading this and know how to skate, get to Chicago ASAP. You are probably a better option than David Rundblad. I know the Hawks just won their third Cup in six years, so Stan Bowman pretty much knows what he’s doing (Bickell contract aside and I think he overpaid Crow a bit in 2013), but I have no idea what possessed him to give Rundblad a million dollars. He was bad even by his own low standards.

This team is going to score some goals, though. Panarin was excellent other than a couple times when he tried to do a bit too much. This is on par with what I saw during the IIHF World Championship. He’s a perfect fit with Patrick Kane. If Q really wants/needs to mix things up at some point, I think he’d be a great fit with Turbo, too. As for Turbo, he was pretty good overall, but had a few screw-ups offensively. That top line as a whole looked awesome, though.

The third line was not particularly good. Shaw was fine and I generally liked what I saw from Baun, but that line needs someone to provide an offensive spark. The Hawks have eight more games to take a look at Bickell and make a decision on him, but this was not a good start for him.

My picks for 3 stars:

★★★ Patrick Kane, RW, CHI (1 A)

★★ Artemi Panarin, LW, CHI (1 G)

★ Kevin Klein, D, NYR (1 G)

Twitter: @KSchroeder2325

E-mail: schroeder.giig@gmail.com