The Rangers woke up Wednesday morning tied with the Devils for the No. 1 power-play percentage in the NHL at 31.3.
This after a perfect 2-for-2 performance with the man-advantage in the Blueshirts’ 5-2 win over the Maple Leafs in Toronto on Tuesday night.
The first power-play unit, which averages nearly two whole minutes more than the second unit per game, may have notched the cushion 4-2 score toward the end of the game, but it was the second unit that capitalized first in the second period.
Alexis Lafreniere snapped a 12-game goal drought with just the fifth power-play goal of his career off a wrist shot that ricocheted off Maple Leafs defenseman Morgan Rielly.
The second group, which currently features Lafreniere, Blake Wheeler, Jonny Brodzinski, Jimmy Vesey and Erik Gustafsson, doesn’t get all that much ice time due to the offensive prowess of the first unit. It’s also a bit of a makeshift squad in the wake of long-term injuries to Kaapo Kakko and Filip Chytil.
“The power play is pretty good right now,” Gustafsson said. “Good to have both units going, too, stepping up. It feels great.”
The Rangers have now scored a power-play goal in five straight games and 10 of their last 12 games. It also marked the sixth time this season the club posted multiple power-play goals in a game. Its 30 power-play goals were ranked second in the NHL entering Wednesday night.
Bread is rising once again.
Artemi Panarin extended his point streak to five games with his power-play goal Tuesday night in Toronto. With 43 points (17 goals, 26 assists) through 30 games, Panarin is just the ninth skater in franchise history to have posted such numbers.
He joins Frank Boucher, Jean Ratelle, Bill Cook, Vic Hadfield, Rod Gilbert, Mark Messier, Jaromir Jagr and Theo Fleury.
Coming off of posting a career-high six shots on goal against Toronto, Brodzinski also notched an assist on Lafreniere’s power-play goal. He now has seven points (one goal, six assists) in 11 games with the Rangers this season.
The Rangers are 12-4-1 on the road this season, the second best away record in the NHL behind only the Kings (13-1-1).
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