It’s been more than 50 years since the Rangers last won 10 games in a row, but the in-form Blueshirts will have a chance to equal that franchise record Saturday afternoon in Philadelphia.
Several factors have contributed to the team’s recent meteoric rise, with Peter Laviolette’s first-place team losing 5-2 at home to Las Vegas on January 26 and scoring just 24 points in 25 mid-season games. It has come out of a slump that never existed.
One factor is clearly the improved offensive output from the top two units up front, with four players up front averaging more than one point per game during the streak.
And Alexis Lafreniere has been just off the pace, scoring five goals, including two in Thursday’s road win over the Devils, and dishing out three assists in nine wins.
Lafreniere’s regular linemates Artemi Panarin (3-12-15) and Vincent Trocheck (5-6-11) also earned their fair share of points. Panarin had three assists Thursday night for the second time during his individual four-game point streak, while Trocheck scored for the fifth time in four games and reached 20 points in a season for the sixth time in his career. .
“It’s another good streak and we’re trying to keep it going. I definitely feel like the chemistry with Troch and Bred is good,” Lafreniere said after Thursday’s game, referring to his linemate’s nickname. “We’ve played well against two really good teams. We’re going to stay focused and try to win every game.”
Chris Kreider (7-4, 11) led the team in goals during the nine-game spurt, while regular first-line center Mika Zibanejad (4-6, 10) led the team in goals in the past four games. He has found the back of the net in three games. Jimmy Vesey has played on the right wing in place of injured Blake Wheeler for the past two games.
On Thursday night, Zibanejad took the lead with a power-play goal just after the Rangers sank a critical penalty against rookie winger Matt Lempe.
“Obviously you don’t want to be in that position, but things like that happen,” Zibanejad said after the game. “But even if it was five-on-four for five minutes for them, I think we can still get a lot out of it, and we did.
“It was huge to crush it and really stop their momentum and then score when we got a goal. All in all, it was a big effort and a big effort. [win] For us. ”
The Rangers, who have an NHL record 38 wins, last won 10 straight games from January to February of the 1972-73 season, posting a record of 14 wins, 0 losses, and 2 draws under head coach Emile Francis. left. The only other 10-game winning streak in their 98-year history was from December to January of the 1939-40 season, when they won the Stanley Cup later that spring.
The aforementioned quintet of top-six forwards has accounted for 25 of the Rangers’ 39 goals (64.1 percent) in their nine wins, giving the team an average of 4.3 goals per game.
Still, the third line of Johnny Brodzinski (3-3-6) and rookie Will Quill (2-3-5), led by Kaapo Kakko (3-3-6), also won eight games on a winning streak. Contributes to the goal. No. 1 defenseman Adam Fox also averaged more than a point per game with one goal and nine assists.
All-Star goaltender Igor Shesterkin also bounced back from a poor first half to win the last three games, going 5-0 with a 2.01 points per game average during the streak, while veteran reserve Jonathan Quick helped the team win the final four. .
