Rangers coach Peter Laviolette has lauded his fourth line for how its members have handled the tough minutes he’s thrown at them, but Saturday afternoon was one of the more challenging tasks he’s thrust upon them this season.
Jimmy Vesey, Barclay Goodrow and Tyler Pitlick not only remained defensively sound against the Bruins’ top line of Brad Marchand, Pavel Zacha and David Pastrnak, but the trio was also impactful on the offensive side of the puck by producing two goals.
“They were awesome,” Laviolette said. “I mean, I thought that they were terrific. You know, I was going to leave it just to the zones and maybe just start them more in the D zone, if it came to it, against their top line. As the game moved on, they were doing such a good job of controlling the play that we pushed it no matter when that line went out on the ice.
“Everybody can handle those situations, but this was their job and their role and their responsibility today. Not only did they do a great job of defending and being hard to play against, they pushed forward on the offense as well.”
After getting whacked with a high stick from the Bruins’ Ian Mitchell, Vesey and the rest of his line were joined by Artemi Panarin for the extra attacker during the delayed penalty call.
The Rangers held the zone for a significant amount of time, working it around and retrieving their own rebounds to keep it going.
Vincent Trocheck’s initial shot produced a rebound that Vesey pounced on and chipped in to give the Rangers a 4-3 lead in the second period.
“I had been out there for quite some time,” Vesey said after the win, still out of breath from the overexertion that comes with back-to-back games against stiff competition. “I knew there was a penalty coming, so I thought, ‘Why not hang out around the front of the net?’
“Bread and Troch were doing their thing on the flanks and I think [Zac Jones] made a few great plays, as well, to keep the possession. I just chipped in the rebound.”
Pitlick also scored his first goal as a Ranger on Saturday afternoon after nearly capitalizing on one of the many opportunities he generated the previous game in Philadelphia.
It felt like it was only a matter of time before one was going to break through, especially after Bruins goalie Linus Ullmark snuffed a few Grade-A chances from the 32-year-old wing earlier in the game.
Posted in front of the Bruins’ net early in the third period, Pitlick took a backhanded dish from Vesey and buried it.
“I think it’s just nice to get some rhythm, get some chemistry and now the goals are starting to fall in for us,” Vesey said of his line. “I think that helps confidence for all of us. Lavi said he had a lot of faith in us, as well. He told us before the game we were going to go out a lot against their first line and I think we were up for the challenge. Did a pretty good job tonight.”