Peter Laviolette’s defensive tweak paid off for Rangers in streak-snapping win
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One Peter Laviolette adjustment paid immediate dividends for the Rangers.
One day after being burned by Capitals winger Anthony Mantha, who leaked out for a breakaway opening goal during the Rangers’ 3-2 loss to Washington on Saturday, the Rangers were more prepared Sunday in their 2-1 win, snapping their four-game skid.
“I can’t blame us for the first goal [Saturday],” Laviolette said after Sunday’s win. “We’re in the offensive zone and we’re pressing, and we’re doing our thing. We send a shot in from the point, their guy never broke stride, it gets knocked down in between the hash marks, it’s not like we were blatantly trying to play poor defense. They sprung somebody, they got an opportunity off it and they capitalized on it.
“We talked about it today, maybe the weak side of the ice just move over a little bit and protect those guts if something does happen.”
It worked, as the Rangers’ defense gave them the platform to take an early 2-0 lead.
They were also aided by a classic performance from goalie Igor Shesterkin behind them.
But Laviolette pointed a big part of Shesterkin’s performance Sunday to the defensive work, and lack of giveaways, in front of him, things that had become problematic during the four-game losing streak.
“I thought tonight it was pretty good,” Laviolette said Sunday. “The goal that they scored was kind of like two of the goals last night. They were pucks that came from the side of the net across the crease, not necessarily scoring chances but they hit something and it ended up going in the net.
“There’s a couple of games prior to [Saturday] where for me, just defensively, I talked about it, that we had to be better. I thought we were better [Saturday], I thought we were better tonight.”
Artemi Panarin scored in Sunday’s win, and became the 19th player to accumulate at least 400 points with the Rangers.
He’s also the fastest to hit the mark, in just 310 games played.
Panarin now has 27 goals and 32 assists — both team-highs.
His 59 points are fifth-most in the league.
“I feel like every night, he’s scoring,” Alexis Lafreniere, who plays on the second line with Panarin, said Sunday. “He’s been a really good player for us, this year he’s dominant every game, so it’s good to have him.”
Captain Jacob Trouba announced the birth of a baby boy, Axel, born to the defenseman and wife Kelly in an Instagram post on Monday.
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