NEW YORK – Make the adjustment.
It’s what good players, good teams do.
It’s what the New York Rangers did on Saturday night.
Two days after giving up a bevy of Grade A shots in an end-to-end game that resulted in their first loss of the season, the Blueshirts allowed just five high danger chances, per Natural Stat Trick and turned in a more complete performance in a 2-1 win over the Anaheim Ducks at Madison Square Garden.
Jonathan Quick made 32 saves en route to picking up his 395th career win, and Ryan Lindgren and Will Cuylle provided just enough scoring to get the Rangers over the finish line. But, it was more what they were able to do defending after being thoroughly handled by the Florida Panthers that was most impressive, cutting down on actual, quality chances from a very skilled, young team.
“That’s something (head coach Peter Laviolette) talked about (Friday) and this morning,” Lindgren said. “Just making sure we’re taking care of the puck and limiting their chances.”
Mission accomplished. The win vaulted the Blueshirts back into the Metropolitan Division lead in advance of their nationally televised road matchup against the Washington Capitals on Tuesday night, and seemingly has them back on track after a hiccup against the defending Stanley Cup Champs.
“I thought we played a pretty good game,” Laviolette said. “They’re a good team, they create a lot, and I thought we defended pretty well. ‘Quickie’ made some big saves when we needed him to…it was good to get through it and get a win coming off of the game before.”
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