TORONTO — This is the template for a Rangers team that has to learn how to win without the singular goal-scoring talents of Marian Gaborik.
This 2-1 victory over the Maple Leafs backstopped superbly by Martin Biron was achieved through determination, discipline, dirty work … and trust between the forwards and defense that was lacking in the three-game slide (0-2-1) the Blueshirts carried into the match like a millstone.
“We really had to straighten this out and stop this right now,” said Dan Girardi, who was outstanding on the blue line, blocking six shots, deflecting numerous passes out of harm’s way and consistently rubbing out opponents. “It’s early in the season, but we want to establish an identity as a hard-working team that’s in your face and is going to be hard to play against.”
That’s just what the Rangers were, forechecking diligently, shutting down the neutral zone, and closing off Toronto in the defensive zone. Last Friday at the Garden, the Leafs made the Blueshirts look foolish in their own end, playing keep-away for shifts at a time before getting pucks and bodies to the net. Not this time.
“One of the biggest things was that the ‘D’ was stepping up more to close the gap and shut off their speed, and the reason they could do that is that the forwards were coming back to support them in the ‘D’ zone,” said Ryan Callahan. “The previous games, we didn’t have that trust between the forwards and defense, and that’s the biggest reason we were breaking down game by game.
“We knew we had to put a halt to it. We were all together playing the same system. There’s no other way. ”
The Rangers scored twice in the first against Jonas Gustavsson, with Ruslan Fedotenko jamming one home at 16:11, just 61 seconds before Artem Anisimov converted Michal Rozsival’s gorgeous cross-ice feed for a slam-dunk from the left doorstep.
Rozsival, a dramatically different player on the road (silence) than at home (BOO!), was excellent. Michael Del Zotto, who blocked seven shots, was equally proficient. Marc Staal was tenacious throughout the game, in which the team blocked 30 shots.
“We can’t look at this as a special game,” coach John Tortorella said. “We have to play that way. We can’t look at it as one hell of a game. This can’t be an aberration for us to play that way.
“Teams that win consistently block shots. As we grow, we have to play this way.”
The Rangers did not sit back on the 2-0 lead they carried midway through the third. The defense continued to join the rush. The forwards continued to support the defense as Tortorella rolled his top three lines. There was no panic when Colby Armstrong scored on a rebound at 11:04 to make it 2-1, just 12 seconds before Brandon Prust went off to give the Leafs their fifth power play.
But the penalty-kill unit that had allowed 6 of 19 coming in, stood tall, even though the Rangers needed Biron’s pad save on Kris Versteeg’s breakaway at 11:45 to remain pristine and to allow the club to level its record at 2-2-1 before tomorrow night’s game against the Bruins.
“We’re happy with this, but it means nothing if we can’t repeat it on Saturday,” said Girardi. “We’ve got to bottle this and bring it to Boston.”