After a borderline abysmal start to last night’s game, the Rangers clawed their way back into it and found a way to win. A huge two points for the Blueshirts who are now on a four game win streak, a season high up to this point. While there are still a lot of issues concerning the team and individual performances, the fact that they found a way to win is a huge positive moving forward.
So with that, let’s get into it. The Rangers could not have gotten off to a worse start in this one. Not only did they go over eleven minutes without getting a shot on goal but they gave up two quick goals that put them behind in the first five minutes of the game. Jonas Siegenthaler let a shot go from the point right off the face-off that deflected in off of Jacob Trouba’s stick. The goal was later credited to Nico Hischier who also got a redirect on the shot but not a great look for the already struggling defender who was standing still in front of the net as the puck hit his stick and went past Shesterkin. Not even two minutes after that, Trouba made a good defensive play but was unable to clear the puck afterwards which led to Dawson Mercer snapping a quick shot past Shesterkin to make it 2-0 Devils.
At this point, the Rangers looked awful but none more than Jacob Trouba. The Rangers coaching staff took notice and moved him down to the third pair with Libor Hajek, who coincidentally would be the first Rangers player to put a puck on net over halfway through the period. As time went on, the Rangers slowly but surely picked it up and towards the end of the period, would be rewarded for their efforts. Newly paired Hajek/Trouba went D-to-D in the Rangers zone before Trouba fed Vesey with the breakout pass. Vesey then went cross ice to Trocheck who had an odd man rush with Kreider where he gave it to him for a one-timer that cut the Devils lead in half by one. An outstanding play that brought some life back into the Garden and increased Kreider’s goal count on the year to 14.
Chris Kreider is quietly having just as productive of a start to this season as he did last year, even while settling into more of a third line role. If the power play can get him going like he did last season, he is a couple hot streaks away from potentially moving toward that 50 goal conversation yet again. The second period would bring a turning point to the game after Jack Hughes scored on a highlight reel quality goal, sneaking to his backhand to roof one past Igor. K’Andre Miller got caught pinching which led to Hughes taking the puck in on his own. Schneider opted to watch for the pass which was the wrong choice for someone of Hughes’ talents.
It wouldn’t be long after where Jack Hughes would have the chance for a second goal of the night, as Braden Schneider pulled him down on a breakaway, resulting in a penalty shot. Thankfully, Igor was able to knock the puck off of Hughes’ stick, keeping the score at 3-1. This would act as a huge turning point in the game as not long after, the Rangers scored two goals in seven seconds. A Jonas Siegenthaler interference penalty gave the Rangers their second power play of the night where they were finally able to capitalize off a Vincent Trocheck tip-in. On that very next shift, K’Andre Miller fed Kaapo Kakko with a pass across the crease which he was able to slam home to tie the game up at three.
A scoreless, uneventful third period would come and go which would lead the teams to overtime. For what it’s worth, three-on-three overtime has become a tad painful to watch as it’s essentially a game of keep away until someone gets the chance to make a play. That being said, after two minutes of keep away, K’Andre Miller fed the puck up to Panarin who set Filip Chytil up for a perfect shot that went off the post and in. Comeback complete as the Rangers showed some spark of their identity from last season, and found a way to get a win off a poor start. While this team still has a long way to go, it’s surely worth noting how important it is that not only the vibes seem to be trending upward, but that identity is starting to come back to fruition. This will be integral in the team’s look moving forward this season. They’re back at it Thursday against Toronto as they’ll look to keep this hot streak going.
Chris Feldman
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