The New York Rangers are officially on the winning side of the standings with their second win in a row, an overtime thriller in Toronto. The team got the two points they needed as well as two goals from the guys they needed to score the most. To top it all off, Igor Shesterkin absolutely stole the show and stood on his head to keep the Rangers alive through 65 minutes of play, a night very reminiscent of the nights Henrik Lundqvist had for many years with the Blueshirts.
From the top, the game got off to a bit of a slow start. The Rangers iced the puck a couple of times which quickly led to Toronto taking control of most of the play. A Barclay Goodrow high sticking penalty one minute into the game certainly didn't help the cause. Nevertheless, the Rangers killed off the penalty and play went on. Just a couple minutes past the halfway mark of the period, Mika Zibanejad let a rocket of a shot go that at first glance, looked like it rung off a post. Upon further review, the puck was in the net and the Rangers were up 1-0 in the most anti-climactic way possible.
To the second we go where despite getting two chances on the power play, the Rangers would only register two shots, where the Leafs would register 17. Some things never change and one that stands the test of time is the Rangers being abysmal on the power play. Had it not been for Shesterkin standing on his head, this game could've easily had a very different outcome. Toronto native Michael Bunting scored early in the period to tie the game up off a Morgan Rielly shot for his second of the season.
After a scoreless third, where the Rangers would have yet another power play opportunity that fell by the way side, the teams would head to overtime. I will note, Gerard Gallant had his fourth line out there in the final stretch of that period and while that may be questionable to some, Ryan Reaves almost called game before overtime. That line may lack flash, but they're certainly going to be effective throughout this season. In what was more or less a bit of a boring game for the first 60, certainly made up for it in overtime.
It's funny, the first minute of overtime made me think of something Jeff Marek talked about on his podcast. He posed the point that 3 on 3 overtime is starting to lose its excitement because of how much puck possession is prioritized which leads to teams basically playing keep away for five minutes or until someone makes a mistake. Well, the Rangers and Leafs proved it to still be very excitable. Once that first minute or so of feeling it out was over, it was non stop chances for both teams. Auston Matthews had not one, but two chances to end it, one of which coming from Shesterkin having to make a save from like 30 feet out of the net. Jacob Trouba had a real good chance on an odd man rush to end it but Jack Campbell was just as equal to the task.
When a whistle finally came, believe it or not the Rangers actually won a face off and it was Artemi Panarin letting an absolute snipe go past Campbell to say goodnight and get his team their second win in a row and of the season. I mentioned in my pregame post how important it was not only for the Rangers to get this win with all the time they have between games, but for their top guys to finally get scoring. Check both boxes as Zibanejad and Panarin both netted their first goals of the season and the Rangers can head to Nashville with their chins up and a bit of swagger.
The Rangers are back at it against the Preds, Thursday night in Nashville. If this team can continue to win games, especially without two of their top six forwards, they're going to be real dangerous for teams around the league. You have to hope Zibanejad and Panarin will take those goals and run with them moving forward. This team still has plenty of room to grow and will continue gelling, if they can start winning more face offs and get the power play going, the sky is the limit for this group.
Chris Feldman
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