Rangers Tie Franchise Record Winning Streak With 2-1 Win Over Flyers

The Rangers matched their franchise-best winning streak with their 10th straight win Saturday against the Flyers. For those who are into history, the Blueshirts also did it from Dec. 19, 1939-Jan. 13, 1940, and Jan. 19-Feb. 10, 1973. New York gets an immediate chance to set a new mark as they take on the Blue Jackets in Columbus on Sunday.

Three storylines stand out from the win. Rather than pick which one is more important, I will go the easy route and go in alphabetical order. First up is Alexis Lafreniere.

Lafrieniere’s goal Saturday was his 17th of the season, leaving him just shy of tying his career-high of 19 set two years ago. For all those who aren’t into analytics and look beyond just the boxscore, Lafreniere’s hot streak this year should not be a major surprise. Even-strength production was the main driver of his solid year last season, as just four of his 39 points came on the man-advantage. This season, as Vince Mercogliano noted, the 22-year-old Lafreniere has consistently put himself into quality scoring positions.

Prior to Saturday’s game, Laf was tied with Chris Kreider for the team lead with 72 individual high-danger scoring chances at five-on-five, according to Natural Stat Trick. The chemistry between Laf, Artemi Panarin and Vincent Trocheck is highly evident and a big reason why Lafreniere is having a fine campaign.

Next up is Matt Rempe.

Called up last week, Matt Rempe has made his presence immediately known. Even before skating a second in the Stadium Series, Rempe fought Matt Martin of the Islanders. Tuesday, he skated just 5:08 but had seven hits, showing the physical presence New York desired when promoting Rempe and Adam Edstrom. Thursday, 13 seconds into his first shift, Rempe blasted Nathan Bastian, making contact with his head, earning a match penalty.

In pre-game Saturday, just like in the Martin fight, Rempe was asked to go during the game, this time by Nicolas Deslauriers. The two threw haymakers in a fight that seemed to last forever and revved up both teams. Rempe also notched his first goal of the game as a shot from Barclay Goodrow deflected off Rempe, who was stationed in front of the net. Rempe played just 5+ minutes in the win, along with Edstrom, the team’s version of the Bash brothers, has brought an identity to the fourth line that had been lacking. There is no guarantee Rempe will keep his spot up to or after the trading deadline, but he has shown that he can skate and play at this level.

The third, and certainly not least, storyline is Igor Shesterkin.

Prior to Saturday’s win, Igor had stopped 173 of 183 shots, posting a 2.01 goals-against average and .945 save percentage while winning five straight contests. The slump he endured in January looks to be a thing of the past, as Shesterkin has been sharp in all phases between the pipes. Shesterkin was brilliant again Sunday, stopping 39 of 40 shots, and was especially in the first and third periods, enabling the Rangers to pull out the win. When Igor is on a roll like this, the thought of a long playoff run is certainly top of mind for all Rangers’ fans and likely the team as well. With Shesterkin and Jonathan Quick, New York is very well set between the pipes.