The preview said this one would turn on depth down the middle, and the 2nd period was where that showed. With Ryan Poehling out 6-8 weeks with an MCL sprain and Troy Terry on long-term IR, Joel Quenneville doesn't have many ways to change a game once it gets away from him. New York's 3-goal period made sure he had no chance to try. Two days off after the Boston game were supposed to help Anaheim on this trip. It didn't look like it.
Dylan Garand was again the one name in New York's net worth talking about. He made 29 saves on 31 shots, the Ducks didn't beat him through 40 minutes, and the 2 goals he allowed came in the 3rd after the Rangers already led by 4. The preview called a young goalie with no healthy veteran behind him the thinnest spot on this roster. It has not looked thin yet.
Look at the last 3 Anaheim results together. The Ducks lost 4-2 to Calgary, 4-2 to Boston and 5-2 here. That's 2 goals in each game, and they came at different times: against Boston it was 2 early and then nothing for 40 minutes, and at MSG it was nothing for 40 and then 2 late. The game summary doesn't settle the other things the preview told readers to watch, including whether Alexis Lafreniere stretched his 6-game point streak, what Adam Fox added, and how Anaheim's 2nd-ranked power play did. What it does show is that New York scored 5 at home again and Anaheim didn't score until the 3rd.
Anaheim is now 4-4-0, and the 2 road wins at Winnipeg and Calgary feel like a while ago. The Rangers keep winning at the Garden. Garand has played well in net and the offense showed up early. They still haven't won on the road, and that's the question they need to answer next.