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 But less than 24 hours after having their coach criticize them in
the media, the Rangers responded in a big way against the San Jose
Sharks on Monday night.
Backup goaltender Antti Raanta made 22 saves in his season debut and
four players scored a goal as the Rangers dominated a lifeless
Sharks team 4-0 at Madison Square Garden to answer coach Alain
Vigneault's calls for improved play from anyone that wasn't named
Henrik Lundqvist, the Rangers goaltender.
The perennial Vezina Trophy contender was the only player who failed
to draw Vigneault's ire after Monday's 2-1 overtime loss to the
Devils, so it fell to Raanta and everyone else in the lineup to
deliver a better performance.
And that they did.
"Everyone in the room knew the level we were playing at wasn't
acceptable," said defenseman Marc Staal, whose first-period goal was
all the Rangers needed. "It was something we wanted to take care of.
We were playing a good team in San Jose. It was a good test for us.
We had a good effort."
It was an especially tough test for Raanta, the replacement for Cam
Talbot, who was traded to the Edmonton Oilers after two exceptional
seasons as Lundqvist's understudy.
Raanta had to make a difficult save in the early stages, as he
shouldered away a rocket from Sharks defenseman Brent Burns about a
minute into the game.
That was about as rough as got for Raanta all night, who benefited
from playing behind a Rangers team with a new-found dedication to
playing a 60-minute game.
"Our guys defended so well today," Raanta said. "We haven't been
doing that, but we did the whole game today. There were a couple
good chances, but our d-men blocked the guys out of my way. I could
see all the shots. ... There weren't any 2-on-1s. I think
(Lundqvist) made like 15 saves on 2-on-1s in the last two games."
As for the tepid "Raanta" chants from fans near the end of the game,
he said: "It was great, but it wasn't as loud as (Lundqvist) gets."
Meanwhile, the Sharks have dropped two straight after winning their
first four games of the season. They were playing their third game
in four nights, which has become commonplace in this matchup. In
four of the past five season, the Sharks have faced the Rangers at
MSG in game that has been their third in four nights.
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"We weren't anywhere near good enough," Sharks center Joe Pavelski
said. "Especially when we had the puck, we couldn't make any plays.
Credit them a little bit, but at the end of the day, we weren't good
enough. It was more about us."
Goaltender Martin Jones lost his first game of the season after
starting 4-0, as he allowed four goals on 28 shots. The first two
goals, by Staal and right winger Mats Zuccarello, were scored
through screens. The final two goals, by right winger Jesper Fast
and left winger Viktor Stalberg, weren't soft goals but they were
certainly stoppable.
"We pretty much lost every facet of the game," Sharks coach Peter
DeBoer said. "We lost races to pucks, lost battles, lost the special
teams battle. There's a price to pay to win and the other team was
more willing to pay that price than us so we got what we deserved."
It's a long season and surely both teams will have long forgotten
about this game by the time the calendar turns to April. But it was
a rewarding win for a Rangers team that showed what it can do when
it pays more attention to details.
"(Players and coaches) have been talking about putting a 60-minute
game on the ice," Vigneault said. "Moving forward here, we'll be all
right."
NOTES: The Sharks placed C Logan Couture (broken fibula) on injured
reserve to create space for C Bryan Lerg, who was recalled from the
San Jose Barracuda of the AHL. Lerg made his season debut Monday.
... Sharks D Paul Martin (lower body), LW Ben Eager (ear laceration)
and RW Joonas Donskoi (lower body) did not play. ... The Rangers
made LW Tanner Glass, RW Emerson Etem and D Dylan McIlrath healthy
scratches. ... Rangers coach Alain Vigneault said he expects G
Henrik Lundqvist to be in net Thursday against the Arizona Coyotes.
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