After an ugly stretch of performances, the Rangers have come out of the bye week and All Star break looking much better. They closed the first half of the schedule with a win over Ottawa, and have followed it up with a pair of impressive victories at home. I can’t lie, I was worried about these two games (it was Colorado and Tampa after all), but the Blueshirts rose to the occasion. These two outings looked a lot more like the team we got used to seeing for large chunks of this season so let’s dive into whats gone into that.

Not Yet Father Time

At least that’s what Jonathan Quick is saying with his play this year. While the old man is undefeated, number 32 is giving him a run for his money. Quick got the nod in net to open the half and repaid the Rangers with a pair of solid performances, allowing just one goal in each game while making several timely saves. The confidence he is playing with is infectious and it has carried over to the rest of the group. It’s very easy to be happy for Quick, who is proving he still has it while playing for his childhood team, a special story this season for sure. Hell, he’s even chipping in with nifty assists on OT winners.

A lot has been made of the Rangers giving the veteran these starts over the usual number one Igor Shesterkin, so I’ll throw my two cents in as well. To me there isn’t much of a controversy here, Quick is the hot hand and Laviolette should roll with him for a bit. This is giving Shesterkin a chance to continue to work on his game with Benoit Allaire while the team gets back to banking points. I think we can all agree that if the Rangers are going to go deep this year, it will likely be with Igor in the pipes, so let him get right now before the playoffs come. I expect him to play his way out of his latest slump at some point, but thank the hockey gods for Quick, he’s been one of the team MVP’s. Both guys deserve a lot of credit for how they have handled this with no ego, as they truly seem like partners in net, something I can’t picture with one of Shesterkin’s past backups (*cough* Georgiev).

Playing the Full Rink

No matter who was in net, one thing was not up for debate, the Rangers had to play better defensively. While we’ve harped on one or two guys in particular this year, it reached a point where the whole blue line wasn’t doing enough. Fortunately, in the last two games that has started to change as everyone on the back end looks better. Adam Fox is looking more and more like his old self, while Braden Schneider has been very impressive as well. Ryan Lindgren returned from injury in fine form while Jacob Trouba came back from suspension playing his usual steady game. Erik Gustafsson would probably like his turnover against Tampa back but hey, nobodies perfect.

Before I move onto the forwards I have to give K’Andre Miller his flowers too. Number 79 has had a tough year on and off the ice, but some of the best features of his game returned to the ice this week. Despite being victimized by a Nathan MacKinnon beauty (who hasn’t) he kept playing a strong all around game. Miller even got physical for a change and mixed it up around the net with Mikko Rantanen and several Bolts forwards. He needs to keep that mean streak in his game as the Rangers will have to win these type of contests in the spring time.

Moving from the defense to the forwards, all four lines deserve credit for playing a strong 200-foot game in both matchups. Chris Kreider and Mika Zibanejad did good offensive work at even strength, hopefully signs of hot streaks to come, while also shutting down the opposition’s top players. Both bottom six lines were good at turning defense to offense, like you see on Vesey’s top shelf finish above. These were the best games the bottom six lines have had in a bit, a credit to both centers in my opinion as Tyler Pitlick and Jonny Brodzinski brought plenty of energy and even a lamp lighter.

Going hand in hand with that responsible structured approach is some good old fashioned hard work. The Rangers won a lot of puck battles in these games while also doing nice work on the cycle. The Brodzinski goal above was a fine example of just outworking the opposition as Wheeler digs the puck out to set up Jonny B for the “one T.” They have to remain hard to play against, especially as they add to this team at the deadline, to prepare for the playoffs.

A Special Celebration

I wanted to take a second here to do some promotion. The Rangers Ed Podcast hosts will be helping to host a tailgate along with the Hockey Night in New York podcast crew for the Rangers vs Islanders Stadium Series game at MetLife Stadium on February 18th. I will be in attendance for it and there are still tickets available if you would like to join the fun. There will be games, prizes, and all the food and drinks you want. Reach out to @rangers_ed.pod on Instagram for more information regarding the festivities. I will also have a special interview with the Rangers Ed hosts out next week as we talked a range of topics from podcasting to coaching, so be on the lookout for that. Should be a special day in the swamps of Jersey!

Wrap Up

That does it for this recap. The Rangers will be in Chicago tomorrow, before coming home Monday to play the Flames. These two games are very winnable, giving them a shot at five straight wins, which would be a great way to break the bad vibes from a few weeks ago. We’ll have some thoughts on the Knicks trade deadline acquisitions and an Around the Rink NHL roundup out soon as well so stay tuned. You can find me on Twitter @YNWA9623 and subscribe to the site by hitting the follow button in the bottom right corner and entering your email address. Also, check out our new Instagram feed @thebroadwaybreakdownsports for special gameday and promotional content. We’ll be back with more soon.