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Lafreniere hat trick, Quick shutout pace Rangers past Flames 4-0: takeaways
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- Lafreniere hat trick, Quick shutout pace Rangers past Flames 4-0: takeaways
Even playing on back-to-back nights couldn't slow down the rejuvenated New York Rangers on Tuesday, when they shut out the Calgary Flames 4-0 at Madison Square Garden.
That win followed a 6-2 road victory over the Philadelphia Flyers on Monday, as the Rangers improved to 4-1-2 in seven games after returning from the Olympic break. It's the first time the Rangers won consecutive games since Dec. 18-20, nearly three months ago.
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Jonathan Quick made 21 saves to earn his 65th career shutout, and passed Henrik Lundqvist for 17th most in NHL history. He made a sensational acrobatic save to rob Calgary's Matt Coronato at 13:26 of the third period to preserve his second shutout of the season.
"Any time you're mentioned with Hank's name i anything, it's special … just being in the same conversation with him, with any stats, it's something," Quick said postgame.
Alexis Lafreniere recorded his second NHL hat trick, his other one coming March 30, 2024, against the Arizona Coyotes. Linemates Mika Zibanejad and Gabe Perreault each had two assists, and Conor Sheary scored the other goal for the Rangers (26-30-8).
Though the Flames had a strong start to this game, recording seven of the first nine shots on goal in the first period, they were their own worst enemy taking three penalties to allow the Rangers to swing momentum their way.
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That said, Calgary nearly scored when killing off its first penalty midway through the opening period, but Yegor Sharangovich fired a short-handed shot off the crossbar. Still the Flames killed that one off, but then took a pair of penalties just 16 seconds apart beginning with Dustin Wolf 's delay of game minor after the goalie sailed the puck over the glass at 16:12. The Rangers then received a long 5-on-3 power-play opportunity when Olli Maatta cross-checked Vincent Trocheck .
After a slow start, the Rangers got set up in the offensive zone, and Lafreniere chipped Zibanejad's slap-pass up and over Wolf to make to make it 1-0 at 17:27. Zibanejad recorded his 800th NHL point with that primary assist, and Adam Fox notched career point No. 400 with the secondary helper.
Quick stopped all nine shots in the first period, and nine more in the second, looking as sharp as he has in a while. The Rangers rewarded his strong play with a pair of goals in the second period to push their advantage to 3-0.
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Sheary found the back of the net for only the second time in 44 games this season, scoring at 10:28 of the middle period. The third line had heavy puck pursuit led by Noah Laba , after a long stretch pass by Will Borgen traveled from one end of the rink to the other. Tye Kartye then zipped a pass to Sheary, who had a wide-open net to shoot at, and he didn't miss.
The top line followed up with a gorgeous passing sequence of their own to up the lead to 3-0 at 16:31. ZIbanejad found Perreault in front, and the rookie then made a slick feed to Lafreniere at the edge of crease for an easy slam-dunk goal.
"It's been pretty unreal. I just try and stay ready," Lafreniere said with a chuckle about the 20-year-old Perreault's elite vision and passing ability.
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Lafreniere buried another Perreault feed to finish off the hat trick with 2:18 remaining in the third period.
Key takeaways after Rangers blank Flames 4-0
Dennis Schneidler-Imagn Images
Top-line chemistry
The Rangers traded away their best and most dynamic offensive player, when they dealt Artemi Panarin to the Los Angeles Kings on Feb. 4. But it looks like they found a new top line without their top player.
The way Lafreniere, Zibanejad, and Perreault zip the puck around as they build elite chemistry together is fun to watch, and an absolute game-changer for the Rangers . They combined for three goals and seven points Monday in Philly and followed up with three goals — each scored by Lafreniere — and seven points again Tuesday.
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Lafreniere is on absolute heater right now. He's got eight goals in his past nine games, and is third on the Rangers with 18 this season (Panarin is second with 19; Zibanejad is first with 27). But he had no interest in talking about his vastly improved production after the game, though he was happy to talk up his linemates.
"They've been unbelievable. Every time they get it, they can make a play. I just try and get open for them," Lafreniere explained.
Perreault now has seven points (three goals, four assists) and three multi-point games in his past five contests. Zibanejad has eight points (three goals, five assists) in his past four games.
Quickie
There's probably not a guy more respected in that Rangers locker room than Quick. So, you better believe that his teammates and the coaching staff were thrilled with his big night Tuesday.
The 40-year-old is a future Hockey Hall-of-Famer. But this season's been rough for him, devoid of many rewards. When he played some of his best hockey early in the season, the Rangers gave him no goal support. Then when the Blueshirts needed him most with Igor Shesterkin sidelined for 13 straight games through most of January, Quick couldn't stop their season from going down the tubes.
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So, this win was only his fifth in 22 games (21 starts) this season, and second since Nov. 16 (2-14-2). And the two-time Stanley Cup champion deserves to enjoy every last second of this one.
Tankathon tanked
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The Rangers and Flames are in a battle of sorts, as it pertains to the NHL Draft Lottery. The Flames (25-32-7) are 31st overall in the NHL and the Rangers are tied for 28th, now three points better with the victory Tuesday. Of course, the fewer points at the end of the season, the better odds of winning the lottery.
Entering play, the Flames had a 13.6 percent chance of winning the No. 1 overall selection in the 2026 NHL Draft, and the Rangers sat at 11.6 percent, per Tankathon . Those odds certainly didn't improve for the Rangers, even though they feel better about themselves and hope that some of these good vibes, habits, and chemistry continue to build and carry over to next season.
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By the way, the Vancouver Canucks are last in the League standings, and have a 25.1 percent chance to win the lottery. Their play is miserable and they look miserable.
Is that a better state to be in than what's happening lately with the Rangers?
It's a worthwhile debate, for sure.
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