After a night when the Rangers killed all six of their penalties, Mike Sullivan was left ruing the stick infractions that they’ve continued to commit — and that have repeatedly tested the league’s best penalty-kill unit.
The Blueshirts jumped from third to first in the NHL when their 3-1 win over the Blues ended as their success rate climbed to 90.4 percent, but they took three penalties in the first period, two more in the second and another — though Alberts Smits’ was for delay of game — in the third.
“I thought the kill was good,” Sullivan said. “I think it’s a little concerning that the type of stick infractions that we’re taking game in and game out. That’s a conversation we’ve had in between periods. I gotta think about next steps on that one, but we’ve gotta do a better job of our responsibility with our sticks.”
Dylan Garand, who made 32 saves and was less than a minute away from his second shutout of the season, saved the Rangers with some critical stops against a St. Louis power play that entered the night as the 10th best in the NHL. Scott Morrow and J.T. Miller were called for high-sticking penalties, while Noah Laba went for slashing and Jaroslav Chmelar and Mika Zibanejad were given hooking penalties.
The Blueshirts penalty kill has emerged as their definitive strength through the early portion of their season, especially as their power play continues to take shape. They’ve allowed just five goals while opponents have the man advantage all season.
But all five of their stick-infraction penalties occurred while they were either tied or protecting a one-goal lead, giving the Blues plenty of opportunities to shift the tenor of the game.
“It’s a lot to ask to have the penalty kill have to kill that many opportunities against a real good power play,” Sullivan said, “but I thought those guys that were on it did a terrific job.”
Matt Rempe didn’t hesitate. It’s “definitely been different” seeing his name in a trade rumor, which had never happened until last week, when Sportsnet’s Frank Seravalli reported that Oilers head coach Mike Babcock is “believed to admire” the 6-foot-9 forward — and specifically linked Rempe as a potential option for a team looking to add size.
It marked the first rumor to swirl about Rempe, who, after making the roster out of training camp, fell out of the fourth-line rotation and skated only in his third game of the season Tuesday. He said he’ll stay off social media to avoid the chatter and has instead focused on trying to carve out a role with the team he broke into the NHL with four years ago.
“I don’t pay attention to that stuff,” Rempe told The Post on Monday before skating 8:29. “That type of stuff’s all out of my control. I’m just focused on here and trying to get better and get in the lineup and make the most of those opportunities.”
Defenseman Sean Durzi missed his second consecutive game with an undisclosed injury, prompting Morrow — who logged 13:07 — to take his place in the lineup again. Durzi remained day to day. … With his goal and an assist on Eeli Tolvanen’s empty-net tally, Adam Fox now sits at 19 points through 16 games, and his points rank third among defensemen in the leag
