Postgame takeaways: NY Rangers return home and quickly get back to winning ways

NEW YORK - You may kindly remove your fingers from the panic button.

The Rangers flew home from Minnesota disappointed by their overall play in Saturday's shootout loss to the Wild, which snapped their six-game winning streak. And with three key players missing due to injury, there was concern it might get worse before it got better.

Instead, they took care of the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday, getting right back to their winning ways with a 5-3 victory at Madison Square Garden.

"We came out really hot," Vincent Trocheck said. "Honestly, after the last game, we knew we needed to have a good response."

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The Blueshirts pulled away during a four-goal second period that put the game out of reach for the visitors. Trocheck scored twice, Artemi Panarin added two points to extend his point streak to 12 games and a host of others put forth bounce-back performances.

Two of their goals came on a power play that's been humming all season, but it was their three five-on-five goals that were most encouraging. It marked just the third time in 12 games that the Rangers (9-2-1) scored three 5v5 goals or more.

"Overall, I thought we came out with the right attitude and the right pace and really put the game where we wanted to put it right from the start," head coach Peter Laviolette said. "In Minnesota, I thought that we were just too passive all over the ice – on the penalty kill, on the five-on-five play. And, so, I thought all three areas were really on point."

Meanwhile, the leaky defense that showed up in Minny seemed to patch up its problem areas.

New York limited Detroit − which entered Tuesday boasting the NHL's sixth-highest scoring offense − to just 12 shots on goal and four high-danger scoring chances through two shutout periods before getting a bit too lax in the third.

"I’ve got to put a little asterisk next to it and talk about a few things in the third period," Laviolette said. "We'll take care of that (Wednesday), but I do think that the mindset was right and the approach was right tonight."

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The Rangers were able to overcome a shaky finish after going a perfect 6-for-6 on the penalty kill.

"Being more aggressive, getting pucks out of their hands quicker and not letting them set up," Trocheck said. "That was the key for our PK."

They also benefitted from 25 saves from Jonathan Quick, who earned his third win in four starts − and first at MSG.

The 37-year-old backup was making his second start in a row while Igor Shesterkin deals with undisclosed soreness. The Blueshirts' No. 1 netminder practiced Monday and skated on his own prior to Tuesday's game, with Laviolette saying, "He’s progressing. We’ll see how he is when he comes in (Wednesday)" before determining his status for Thursday's 7 p.m. home game against the Wild.

Shesterkin is closer to returning than center Filip Chytil (upper-body injury) and defenseman Adam Fox (lower-body injury), who each missed their second straight game. Neither has skated since sustaining their injuries last Thursday, which calls into question whether Chytil will be ready to play when first eligible to come off injured reserve Sunday.

Fox is on long-term IR, which puts his earliest possible return date at Nov. 29. There's a long way to go before determining if that's a realistic target, but Laviolette sounded optimistic that it won't be an absence of multiple months.

"I don't think that's what we're talking about," he said. "But I don't like talking about it too far out."

Vincent Trocheck jumpstarts the offense

The good news for the Rangers is that Tuesday provided the blueprint for how to win in spite of those missing pieces.

Trocheck jumpstarted that effort with an early goal.

The 30-year-old center is being asked to fill Chytil's spot on a second line that's expected to generate offense, and he did just that. He carried the puck with speed into the offensive zone, made a hard cut to the right circle and flicked a tough-angle wrist shot over an unsuspecting Ville Husso's right shoulder.

It was a sign of things to come for his line with Panarin and Alexis Lafrenière, with all three having active nights.

"There’s a pretty good feeling with each other on our line," Panarin said. "When you do it together with five guys and forecheck, that’s so much better."

Power play keeps humming

Trocheck's second goal of the season made it 1-0 just 1:40 into the game, which is where the score remained heading into the second period.

The Rangers had a steady, defensively responsible start while limiting the Wings to just five shots on goal in the opening 20 minutes. But once the middle period began, they turned up the offensive heat.

A couple of power-play tallies made it 3-0, with Chris Kreider scoring his team-leading ninth goal on one of his signature net-front tips and Trocheck adding his second of the night on a one-timer from the slot.

It took only 40 total seconds of power-play time for the red-hot PP1 unit to score those, with New York now converting its PP chances at a 34.1% clip (14-for-41).

"The power play has been good," Trocheck said. "We're working hard at it, and I think that's been why we've been so successful. We're just making sure that we're keeping it simple. (Erik Gustafsson's) shot on Kreids’ goal, it's just keeping things simple, getting pucks to the net. Obviously, when Kreids is there at the net front, a lot of the times he’s going to get the stick on the puck."

Artemi Panarin stays in attack mode

That was followed by a pair of 5v5 goals, beginning with a one-timer from Panarin at the 11:21 mark of the second period.

It was setup by Lafrenière, who won a puck battle behind the Detroit net and quickly got the puck to his red-hot linemate.

Panarin has preferred not to talk about his scorching start to the season, knowing that regular-season results won't matter until he gets a chance at playoff redemption. He was humbled by last season's disappointing first-round loss to the New Jersey Devils and once again didn't take the bait when asked about his ongoing point streak.

"It's a team win," he said while unable to disguise a smile. "Two points. I’m just happy to be here right now. I’m feeling great."

Laviolette was much more willing to offer praise for his star winger, noting the aggressive mindset and playmaking ferocity that's helped him rack up a team-leading 20 points (seven goals and 13 assists).

"That's when he's at his absolute best," the coach said. "Tonight is a perfect example. He grabbed the puck and he attacked downhill. He attacked the game. I’ve found when he's moving and he's attacking, he becomes really dangerous. He has a skill set that's elite. And with that speed and that downhill approach through the neutral zone and towards their net, that's dangerous."

Strong night for Zac Jones ends with shaky finish

Less than three minutes after Panarin's goal, it was rookie Will Cuylle putting an exclamation point on the fast-paced second period. He scored his third goal of the season by tipping in a long wrist shot from Zac Jones.

It marked the first point of the season for the 23-year-old defenseman, who struggled in his previous two appearances.

Prior to the game, Laviolette offered Jones a vote of confidence.

"We're going to put him back in there," he said. "He, along with everybody else, gets another opportunity to go play a good game. His attitude has been unbelievable. Awesome every day. He works hard. He's got a smile on his face. Not being in the lineup sometimes can cause you to sour. You’re not working, or you’re just frustrated with having to skate. He's done everything we've asked. He's really easy to work with."

For much of the night, Jones looked much more confident with the puck on his stick, cleaner on his breakout attempts and steady in his defensive coverage. He was having a standout performance up until the final period, when he was on ice for all three Wings' goals.

There are still things to clean up defensively, particularly when it comes to protecting the front of the net, but this represented a step in the right direction for the young defensemen duo of Jones and Braden Schneider.

"I thought that pair was excellent," Laviolette said. "It's unfortunate on the second goal (from Klim Kostin). I thought we could have gotten more help from forwards coming back into the zone. Zac was kind of caught in front of the net. That was that was tough, and then he got caught on the line change (on Andrew Copp's goal) when he's the guy coming out. So, a couple tough breaks for him, but I thought that Jones and Schneider, that pair was excellent. … At the end of two periods. I thought they had a major impact on the game."

Vincent Z. Mercogliano is the New York Rangers beat reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Read more of his work at lohud.com/sports/rangers/ and follow him on Twitter @vzmercogliano.

This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Postgame takeaways: NY Rangers quickly get back to winning ways