Bobby Bevilacqua

With yet another five goal outburst, the Rangers (10-3-0) won their fifth straight game, beating the Winnipeg Jets (5-7-1) at Madison Square Garden by a final score of 5-2.

This was the fifth consecutive game in which the Rangers have scored five goals, marking the first time since the 1978-79 season that a Rangers team had done that. The 10 wins through 13 games is tied for the best 13 game start to a season, and their plus-26 goal differential over the first 13 games is the best in franchise history.

The Jets’ goal scorers were Patrik Laine, who is tied for the league lead with eight goals, and Mark Scheifele. The Rangers got goals from Kevin Hayes, Mats Zuccarello, JT Miller, Jesper Fast, and Pavel Buchnevich. Henrik Lundqvist had a good game, making a few pretty great stops and finishing with 24 saves in his seventh win.

While you can never be disappointed with a win, there were some aspects of the Rangers game that was not great. They didn’t play consistently well and only managed 18 shots on goal, including none in the third period. Some of that can be marked up to the Rangers playing super-defensive in their sixth period in two days, so it can be justified in some ways.

Here are last night’s 🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨 that led #NYR to their 5️⃣th straight win!! pic.twitter.com/jSZlIz1rEU

— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) November 7, 2016

I’m so impressed with Kevin Hayes and how well he’s playing this system, because he looks a lot more confident and comfortable in the system. The new players have made the Rangers a speed team and it’s given Hayes much better linemates to play with. As a result of that, plus his work in the offseason, he has been one of the best players as of late.

JT Miller scored on a beautiful snipe to give him 13 points (5-8-13) in 13 games, and Mats Zuccarello also scored on an excellent wrister on the rush for his sixth goal of the season. Jesper Fast scored his second goal of the season, a deflection, and has six points as a fourth liner.

Pavel Buchnevich scored his second career goal, and it was a beauty. It was a total individual effort, outskating his defender, deking and confusing Michael Hutchinson and sending it into the back of the net. He’s scored in two straight games, and last night’s goal was a very high skill one. He’s earned a spot on the third line, which I hope he gets next game so he can really show off his offense next to Hayes and Miller.

Another reason is because the fourth line got shelled last night. While it’s great having all of the skill that Buchnevich, Pirri and Fast can provide, the team does need to make it a bit more conventional. For that reason, I would like to see Michael Grabner on the fourth line with Pirri and Fast again. It gives that line two defensive players but still a load of talent and scoring capabilities. Grabner is a better fit than Buchnevich and I want to see the rookie in a more offensive oriented role. Pirri has shown that you can still produce on the fourth line (4-5-9), so Grabner would still be a featured player.

Brady Skjei also picked up another assist and now has a five game assist streak. He’s become so good at moving the puck around and it’s leading to goals. He already has eight points, all assists, and is becoming a fantastic all-around defenseman. I’m very impressed with his transition game, his puck distribution, and his passing.

The Rangers look to keep things rolling when they take on the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday.