New York Rangers vs. Detroit Red Wings Pick & Prediction OCTOBER 17th 2024
Preview and Prediction
The New York Rangers have been consistently scoring goals in their first three games, but Mika Zibanejad was not able to contribute to the scoring until the final minutes on Monday.
After scoring his first goal, Zibanejad hopes to have another productive game on Thursday night as the Rangers face the Detroit Red Wings in the second game of a home-and-home series and the start of a three-game road trip.
New York has already scored 15 goals in their first three games, which ties the team record set in 1979-80 and 1983-84. To match the record for most goals in the first four games, the Rangers would need to score seven more times.
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Eleven different players have scored for the Rangers, with Chris Kreider, Alexis Lafreniere, and Artemi Panarin combining for seven goals.
Kreider scored the game-winning goal on a power play in the second period of Monday's 4-1 victory over the Red Wings. Zibanejad also had a strong performance, recording two assists and his first goal of the season after a rough game on Saturday where he finished with a minus-4 rating.
"Scoring that first goal definitely gives you a boost of confidence and energy," Zibanejad said after Monday's game. "It also gives you a bit of swagger, so it's a great feeling to get that first one out of the way."
Panarin, who has seven points in the first three games, assisted on Lafreniere's goal and Reilly Smith also scored his first goal as a Ranger against Detroit. Panarin has been dominant against the Red Wings in the past, with three goals and 12 assists in his last 10 games against them.
Kreider missed practice on Wednesday due to an illness, but is expected to play on Thursday as the Rangers continue their road trip.
The Red Wings have only scored seven goals in their first three games against the Pittsburgh Penguins, Nashville Predators, and Rangers. Dylan Larkin scored his second goal of the season on Monday, but the Red Wings gave up three straight goals after that.
Detroit has also struggled on the power play, going 0-for-4 on Monday and only scoring one goal on 11 power play opportunities so far this season. Last season, the Red Wings had the ninth-best power play in the NHL, scoring on 23.1% of their chances.
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"We haven't been able to get quality shots on net," Larkin said after Monday's loss. "We've been able to possess the puck and move it around well, but we need to do a better job of creating scoring chances."
Despite taking 32 shots on goal, the Red Wings were only able to generate eight shots on their power play opportunities.
"We've also noticed that we tend to do well on our first power play and then struggle on the rest of our chances," Larkin added. "We need to take advantage of every opportunity we get and make them count."
Red Wings defenseman Erik Gustafsson has been a healthy scratch for the past two games, but may return to the lineup on Thursday. Gustafsson played for the Rangers last season.
The Rangers have had a dominant record against the Red Wings in recent years, going 10-1-2 in their last 13 meetings.
New York Rangers vs. Detroit Red Wings
Henrik Lundqvist recorded his first shutout since the 2017-18 season, and the visiting New York Rangers notched their second win over the Detroit Red Wings in as many nights with a 1-0 triumph on Saturday.
New York won 4-2 on Friday on its home ice in the first game since the All-Star break for both teams. The 37-year-old Lundqvist, who is having the worst season of his storied career, made 33 saves Saturday while collecting his first shutout since Nov. 19, 2017 against Ottawa. Lundqvist has five career shutout against the Wings.
Lundqvist was making his first start since Jan. 11, when he allowed five goals at St. Louis. In his only other January start, he gave up four goals in a loss at Calgary. His last victory came on Dec. 27 against Carolina.
Mika Zibanejad scored the only goal of the game on a power play in the opening period. The Rangers dominated the faceoffs, winning 68.9 percent of the draws.
Detroit saw its losing streak reach eight games despite 30 saves from Jonathan Bernier. The Wings, who have the league's worst record, have been shut out five times this season.
New York's goal came after the first penalty of the game, when Detroit forward Justin Abdelkader was called for interference against Jacob Trouba.
Zibanejad scored his 20th goal at the 12:13 mark. Chris Kreider flipped the puck from the right circle, and it glanced off Bernier's stick before Zibanejad tapped it in. Ryan Strome also collected an assist on the goal.
Kreider soon left the game after taking a knee to the head.
Wings forward Valtteri Filppula, playing in his 1,000th career game, had a quality chance to tie it late in the second period, but his backhanded attempt hit the post.
Detroit's Dylan Larkin was stopped at point-blank range by a sprawling Lundqvist in the final seconds of the period.
Lundqvist robbed Wings defenseman Patrik Nemeth with a glove save four minutes into the third period.