Despite dropping the home opener, New York Rangers head coach Alain Vigneault found some positives he took from the game.
“I thought it was a good hockey game." Hear from #NYR head coach Alain Vigneault after tonight's loss to Colorado. pic.twitter.com/606WCBxtzw
— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) October 6, 2017
Alain Vigneault thought the team “played fast we had a lot of good looks.”
Despite the loss, the Rangers went 2-for-6 with their new power play units. They won 64 percent of their faceoffs, a dramatic increase from last season. They had plenty of opportunities to score but were unable to beat Colorado goalie Semyon Varlamov at even strength.
"The result was not what we were looking for, but a lot of good things to build on.”- @HLundqvist30 after tonight's #NYR tilt with Colorado. pic.twitter.com/wSuFZvYBNM
— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) October 6, 2017
Henrik Lundqvist took the loss last night, yet believes there is a lot to take from the game.
“The result was not what we were looking for, but a lot of good things to build on.”
Hank stopped 22 out of 25 shots with an empty net goal against.
Despite the result, @shattdeuces said his #NYR debut was "still a special night in my career." pic.twitter.com/7o7TSw2f4m
— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) October 6, 2017
Regardless of the result, it was a special night for Kevin Shattenkirk. Though a -3 on the night, he was a dominant force as he led the power-play and assisted on Mika Zibanejad’s first power-play goal.
The first goal of the Rangers season goes to Mika Zibanejad. It's a power play goal! Of course Shatty picks up the assist. #NYR pic.twitter.com/O3z0B0BkSw
— Elite Sports NY (@EliteSportsNY) October 5, 2017
Rookie Filip Chtyil started the night centering a line with Rick Nash and Mats Zuccarello on the wings. He ended the night a -1, with one penalty taken ( pretty soft tripping call) and 7:40 time on ice. Considering he is 18 years-old, playing in his first NHL game, the ice time was expected.
The Rangers now head to Toronto for a game on Saturday night against Auston Matthews and the Maple Leafs.
