Great win not playing their best except for IGOR who was magnificent and deserved the first star of the game. 6 down and 10 to go. Suck on it Carolina
This team is unlike the other teams. Seems better than the 2012, 2014 and 2022 teams. Absolutely No excuse not to win this year.
Huge OT win, you have to be impressed with this team. I thought this series would be 1-1 going to Carolina before game 1, and we won both at home to take a commanding 2-0 lead. What do you say when the team continues to step up and win big games that prior Rangers teams didn't, and in OT as well where we have struggled in the playoffs. 6-0 in the playoffs says it all. In theory we are in a very solid spot now, 88.5% of teams that go up 2-0 at home win the series. It will not be easy as the Canes will have another big push in them back at home, but it is great to be in the spot we are in, all you can ask for. Huge shoutout to Igor, that is our biggest advantage in the series, in goal (I think we'll see a different Carolina goalie in game 3). And huge shoutout to Trocheck, that has been a great signing, and he has taken his game to a level I didn't expect.
That is the other thing, through 6 games the big guys have shown up these playoffs: Zibanejad with 11 points, Panarin with 7 points, Trocheck with 10 points, Lafreniere with 7 points, Kreider with 6 points, Roslovic with 5 points. That is the top 6 all getting it done so far. Great to see. Few observations: Rempe is maybe a good luck charm as when he plays, they usually win, and don't fix what isn't broken, but playing only 4:03 in a double OT game is not ideal. Clearly Lav doesn't trust him. I wonder if he does make a change at some point if they lose a game. Trouba 3 penalties tonight is no good. I have to give Lav some credit here as he had the guts to bump him to the 3rd pair and leave him there, and tonight he played less minutes than the top 4 dmen. Smart move by Lav. Both teams had great special teams, through two games we have owned special teams both on the PP and PK. Hopefully it continues.
Doing this without Chytil too. Imagine him being in the lineup. Let's hope they don't blow this lead.
They might of stolen this one depending on how you look at it. The important thing along with being up 2-0 is the Rangers top players are playing like top players.
Need that third line start scoring some goals. Panarin does not need to be great. He just needs to add and play a simple north south game.
Yes 3rd line had some really solid shifts but they need to score. Same with 4th line. If Chytil is healthy I play him over Rempe. Brod was ok but I just think the team is sparked having Rempe there. I think he scores next game. 4th line hasn’t been playing that great in the offensive zone
Agree, but in the playoffs, especially against a very good team like Carolina, you win and that's the only thing that matters. Yes, they were outshot 57-39, but a lot of that is also how Carolina plays as they shoot everything towards the net and led the league in shots per game. Also, why we have one of the top goalies in the league to step up huge. Had a few too many giveaways and lost the FO battle again 53%/47%, but at days end we just beat a very good team two straight games, and we are in very good position, now don't let up and blow it.
The 3rd line is interesting. They only have 2 total points, goal by Kakko and assist by Wennberg, but they have excellent underlying numbers and good puck control and zone time. That is all very important but would like to see them chip in a few goals as well. At some point you'd think we will need it. Going back to earlier today, I still believe if you are going to sit Rempe you play Chytil if healthy and cleared. I just don't see what value Brod brings, and in that case, I just stay with Rempe.
Thursday will be interesting as Carolina heads home in the closest to a must win as you get without an elimination game. I expect them to be quite tough in an all important game three.
Of course you want to win both, but Rangers need to get at least one game, and worst case come home up 3-1.
Great game great win. Vezina Igor put the team on his back and carried them to victory and Laf finally broke his goal drought. Hard to think anything changed with Chytil in 3 months when the Rangers said he was done for the season, especially when they misdiagnosed his concussion in the first place but glad he's skating. Trouba leads all players in blocked shots, took a couple of bad penalties but also threw a few big checks. The Canes are a small, dirty, unlikeable team that can be beaten into submission, not by Rempe's fists but with aggressive physical play. Keep it up in Carolina!
