Mike Sullivan made a surprising personnel decision with the New York Rangers’ top power-play unit Monday, and it paid off less than two minutes into their game against the Carolina Hurricanes.
The Rangers coach put defensive-minded defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov at the power-play point, playing his off (right) side in the offensive zone. And Gavrikov made the most of his rare man-advantage opportunity, hammering an Artemi Panarin pass into the back of the net 1:39 into the first period.
It was not only Gavrikov’s first power-play goal in 476 NHL games, it was his first power-play point.