The Rangers follow up their most disappointing effort of the season with one of the crazier games of the season in terms of goals, lineup and overall flow. Another sloppy start was followed by a quick surge and some back and forth that ended up with the Blueshirts on top. Head Coach Gerard Gallant opted to roll with eleven forwards and seven defenders for the second time this season. With Greg McKegg rejoining the team, Gallant opted to give Reaves the night off and used Libor Hajek to reduce ice time of Ryan Lindgren and some of the other usuals. Which honestly, in game 59 of 82 a week before crunch time, is it really the end of the world to give some guys a break? Especially if they're a little banged up? Probably not.
The puck drops and all of a sudden it seems like the Rangers are in for another night like the previous two games when Esa Lindell scores just 49 seconds into the game. Looks even worse when four minutes later, Tyler Seguin tips a Joel Kiviranta shot in to make it 2-0, not a great start by any means. The Rangers finally woke up as we reached the halfway point of there period when K'Andre Miller let a shot go that was later declared a Greg McKegg tip-in to cut the lead in half. Welcome back, Kegger.
McKegg's goal would be the beginning of a surge that resulted in four goals in just a little over five minutes. Mika Zibanejad did what Mika Zibanejad does on power plays and tied the game up off a feed from Ryan Strome that originated from Artemi Panarin, who would go on to be a part of almost every Rangers goal that evening. Soon after, Adam Fox would find himself in front of the net, deflecting a Jacob Trouba shot that also came from Artemi Panarin for his 50th assist of the season. 36 seconds after that, Panarin would find the bak of the net himself with assists from K'Andre Miller and Dryden hunt, giving the Rangers a 4-2 lead to take to the second.
Dallas would push back in the second, outshooting the Rangers 13-8, getting back on the board seven minutes into the period. Ryan Lindgren, who has been racking up the penalty minutes lately, got called for interference and with a little under thirty seconds to go on the kill, Johnny Brodzinski tripped up Stars captain Jamie Benn to give his team a 5-on-3 opportunity. With Brodzinski still in the box, Jason Robertson deflected a shot to bring his team within one for his 30th of the season. As play went on, the Rangers would regain the two goal lead once again when Patrik Nemeth scored on a wraparound for his second of the season with assists from Panarin (51) and Dryden Hunt.
To the third we go and it was Joe Pavelski, who recently signed an extension with the Stars essentially crossing his name off the trade deadline watch, bringing his team back within one. Dallas' third goal in a row that was a deflection. Igor Shesterkin may have wished he could've had that first goal back but there wasn't much he could do on the rest that followed. The game stayed close until Barclay Goodrow put a wrist shot past Jake Oettinger to regain the two goal lead once again with about six minutes to go. Dallas pulled the goalie and Igor Shesterkin once again went for the empty net although this time, whiffed on the shot, almost resulting in a chance for Dallas.
Ryan Strome would end up putting it away, giving Panarin his fourth assist, fifth point of the night as well as Dryden Hunt's second assist of the night. All well and good, however it would've been something for Strome to dump the puck back into the Rangers zone to give Shesterkin another shot at the empty net. Nevertheless, the Rangers pulled it together for an exciting win to end the road trip with a 2-2 record, not great but not bad at all. While for fans it's frustrating seeing your team underperform you have to keep in mind, it's a long season and perhaps the Rangers are feeling the effects of that on this road trip.
With four games remaining before the deadline, the Blueshirts will have a couple days off before gearing up to take on Anaheim and the Islanders at home before heading south for some tough matchups with the Lightning and Hurricanes. It'll be interesting to see what the week brings and if Chris Drury is able to do any business before the day of the deadline. With the standings getting a little tighter, the Rangers will need to regroup and get keep the fire from last night going if they plan to maintain that second or third place spot.
Chris Feldman
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