Quick's 2.30-goal margin above average and Detroit's 0-for-5 power play failure meant the Rangers won this game from the crease outward, not the other way around.
New York's faceoff dominance, goaltending margin, and a hat trick from an unlikely source dismantled a Detroit team that generated volume without consequence. This 4-1 Rangers win at Madison Square Garden was decided less by what Detroit attempted and more by what New York refused to allow.
β‘TURNING POINT
Perreault's power-play goal at 7:13 of the third extended the lead to 3-0, erasing any realistic path to a comeback for a Detroit team that had already gone 0-for-4 on the man advantage. Converting the extra-man opportunity while Detroit's power play was failing on both ends made the deficit structural, not situational.
πWHY NYR WON
β’
Quick conceded 2.30 goals fewer than league average on 33 shots β in a 4-goal game, that margin was the foundation everything else was built on.
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NYR won 60.7% of faceoffs, controlling puck retrieval and dictating offensive-zone time throughout, which directly limited Detroit's ability to sustain pressure despite a 33-20 shot advantage.
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Detroit's 0-for-5 power play failed to convert any of its five opportunities, leaving critical leverage moments unexploited and allowing NYR to absorb pressure without consequence.
πWHY DET LOST
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Gibson conceded 1.10 goals above league average on 19 shots β in a game decided by four goals, that margin compounded an already thin offensive output.
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Detroit generated 33 shots but converted only one, meaning their volume masked a fundamental inability to solve New York's structure at high-danger moments.
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Five power play attempts produced zero goals; against a team clinging to a narrow lead for two periods, that execution failure was terminal.
Three Stars
Jonathan Quick1st
NYR, G
32 savesSV% 0.970
Quick conceded 2.30 goals fewer than league average on 33 shots β his margin was the decisive structural advantage in a 4-1 game.
Gabe Perreault2nd
NYR, R
3G 0A 3P6 shots on goalincluding 1 PPG
Three goals across three periods gave New York the cushion that made Detroit's volume irrelevant.
Jaroslav Chmelar3rd
NYR, R
1G 0A 1PTOI 12:00+/- +1
His first-period goal established the lead New York never surrendered, setting the game's tactical terms early.
