DETROIT — This was an example of a superior team on its way to the playoffs using its talent and will to grind down an inferior one a few weeks away from going home for a long summer.
But this 4-1 Rangers victory over the Red Wings on Sunday night in the clubs’ 38th and final meeting at Joe Louis Arena was also a showcase for Ryan McDonagh, who was positively Leetchian in using his elite speed and innate ability to score twice and dominate at both ends of the rink.
The captain has elevated his game exponentially over the last four-to-six weeks to reassert himself as one of the league’s prime defensemen. He has been the best player by miles on a very good team and his work on the right side the last four games paired with Marc Staal has helped elevate his partner’s game as well.
“That pair played another strong game,” said Alain Vigneault, the coach who divided the assignment between his matchup tandem on defense and his Derek Stepan matchup forward line against units centered by Henrik Zetterberg and Frans Nielsen. “Offensively it was one of Ryan’s better games and Marc was right there, making plays with the puck and playing solid defense.”
Both of McDonagh’s goals came from in front, the first a shorthanded score off a two-one-feed from Kevin Hayes on a play that began with the captain gaining control of the puck behind his own goal line, pitching it up to Michael Grabner and then flying 189 feet up the ice to tap in No. 13’s nifty setup from the right side for a 1-0 lead at 19:33 of the first period.
“The first couple of strides both offensively and defensively are so critical,” McDonagh said. “Grabs gave me a great out so I could move the puck. And then I was able to read the opportunity and go.”
Then, after Nielsen tied in on a power play at 5:35 of the second by completing a dazzling relay in which Zetterberg, Justin Abdelkader and Gustav Nyquist yo-yoed it as if on a string, McDonagh struck again, this time from the high slot on a centering feed from Staal at 16:50 for a 2-1 lead.
Yes, a centering feed from Staal.
“Two D down there around the net,” Vigneault mused. “I wouldn’t say that’s ideal.”
The Rangers probably had fewer than two minutes of possession time below the hash marks in the second period. The Red Wings were able to move the puck out well, the Blueshirts did a lot of chipping and chasing. But when they got into trouble, Antti Raanta was equal to the task, just as he has been all season. His work would only be a surprise to those who have not been paying attention.
“It was a different kind of game for me to play,” Raanta said. “Detroit has so much skill that even though you think they’re going to take the shot, they’re probably not. They pass so much.
“You just have to be patient. It worked out pretty good.”
It worked out extremely well in this one for Raanta, who made his most noteworthy save on Nyquist’s left doorstep try off a Zetterberg quasi 2-on-0 feed with 8:40 remaining in the second period of what was a 1-1 match. The Finn is 14-4 with two no-decisions in 20 starts overall, with many more to come while Henrik Lundqvist rehabs his hip injury over the next couple of weeks.
“When you play more, you don’t think as much,” he said. “You just go out and play.”
The Rangers dominated the third after killing two early penalties. Hayes, who scored the 3-1 goal at 17:27 to complete a rush on which linemates Grabner (back after missing five games with a hip injury) and J.T. Miller were instrumental. And then Stepan scored a late power play goal to break his 0-for-23 famine.
“It was a tough lesson in Carolina,” said McDonagh, whose team fell to the Hurricanes after blowing a 3-2 lead after 40 minutes. “We wanted to come out and win the battles here in the third.”
And when they did, it was goodbye to Joe Louis, where the Rangers won nine, lost 20 in regulation, tied four and lost five in overtime, and not one of them a match of significance.
“I think it’s time for the Joe to move on,” Vigneault said before the match. “Time to move on.”