Indeed, the remade defense limited the Penguins to precious few scoring opportunities following the opening 10 minutes in which Igor Shesterkin provided several key saves.
Just four defense pairs in the NHL have been on the ice for at least 3,600 minutes at five-on-five over the past four seasons beginning in 2020-21, and two of them belong to the Rangers, who have been a study in stability on the back end.
Almost incredibly though, Wednesday represented just the sixth game in which Nos. 79 and 23 started as a pair — and just the second since the final four contests of the 56-game, 2020-21 season. Not once in 2021-22, not once last year. The last time Miller and Fox had formed a tandem came in the 13th game of the 2022-23 season against Detroit at the Garden on Nov. 6 when Lindgren was sidelined.
“We’re looking at certain players and trying to come up with the answers to that and Ryan’s absence for a period of time,” Laviolette said following Friday’s practice. “I thought we played pretty well. I said after the game that Shesty had to make probably a half-dozen really big saves through the first 12 or 13 minutes, but after that I thought we were pretty good defensively at closing things down.
Sports Adam Fox K'andre Miller New York Rangers Sports Columnists
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Fenerbahce and Rangers win their openers in the revamped Europa LeagueFenerbahce opened the revamped Europa League with a 2-1 home win over Belgian club Union Saint-Gilloise. Çağlar Söyüncü opened the scoring for Jose Mourinho’s team in the 26th and Christian Burgess’ own goal in the 82nd made it 2-0 for Fenerbahce. Ross Sykes scored in stoppage time for the visitors. In another early game, Rangers won 2-0 at Malmö.
Read more »
Watch: Pittsburgh Penguins, New York Rangers Stars Battle in Pittsburgh TriviaNew York Rangers' star Vincent Trocheck squared off in a Pittsburgh trivia contest against Pittsburgh Penguins' captain Sidney Crosby.
Read more »
Rangers vs Penguins Prediction, Picks & Odds for Tonight’s NHL GameSidney Crosby has been tasked with a tall order to clear his shot prop tonight, and our NHL expert picks will gladly take the Under as the Penguins great goes up against a rock-solid Rangers defense.
Read more »
Rangers vs. Penguins prediction: NHL odds, picks, bets for WednesdayOnce again it seems like the betting market is a little skeptical of the New York Rangers.
Read more »
How to watch Rangers vs. Penguins 2024 NHL season-opener live for freeLast season’s Presidents’ Trophy winners hit the ice for the first time this season.
Read more »
New York Rangers vs. Pittsburgh Penguins FREE LIVE STREAM (10/9/24): Watch NHL onlineThe New York Rangers face the Pittsburgh Penguins at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2024 (10/9/24).
Read more »