After what was probably one of the teams worst periods of the season, the Rangers came back from a 2-0 deficit to beat the Kings 5-3. It was almost night and day going into the second period when the Rangers finally began to sustain offensive zone pressure and showed some urgency on both ends of the ice. An overall much needed win for the Rangers as they look to wrap up their road trip tonight in Anaheim before heading home for the start of the holiday season.
Flat is an understatement when talking about how the Rangers came out to start the game last night and sure enough, 35 seconds in it was one of the two names who have led the way for the Kings this season getting his team on the board in Kevin Fiala. In a play that probably could have been icing, Fiala picked up the puck, came around in front of the net and put it past Shesterkin. As Joe Michelleti pointed out during the game, Shesterkin plays the puck as good as any goalie in the league, and had it not been a potential icing, he likely would’ve played the puck and the goal never would have happened. However, this wasn’t the case and regardless, that’s a play the Rangers need to defend better and Shesterkin needs to be better prepared for.
Not long afterwards, Vincent Trocheck got called for slashing and the Kings would have the game's first power play. A rare defensive zone mistake from Adam Fox left Gabe Vilardi all alone on the doorstep, where he inevitably tipped in a shot from the point to extend the Kings lead to two. From that point on, the Rangers had nothing going for them and for a while, it was the fourth line who seemed to be the only ones able to generate anything. Alexis Lafreniere and Blake Lizotte went off for coincidental minors with three minutes to go, leaving the teams at four-on-four, but even the extra ice wasn’t enough to help the Rangers get going. By the end of the period, the Kings were out-shooting the Rangers 13-6 and it was clear that something had to change if the Blueshirts wanted any chance at getting back into it.
A strong shift from the Rangers kicked off the second and just over two minutes in, it was Braden Schneider with a shot from the point that found its way to the back of the net that got the Rangers on the board to cut LA’s lead in half. Just like that, the Rangers had some life but there was still one thing missing, something that this team hasn’t seemed to have in a very long time. Puck luck. Ten minutes after Schneider’s goal, Vincent Trocheck had the puck in the slot and as he was cutting to his backhand, by some miracle the puck shot up, over the defender and over Peterson into the back of the net. An unbelievable sequence for a team in desperate need of a lucky bounce to tie the game up at two. With under two minutes to go in the period, Kaapo Kakko, who would go on to have enough chances that could’ve led him to a hat-trick, tucked away a puck that probably would’ve been a Filip Chytil goal if it was left untouched but nevertheless, a huge go ahead goal for a guy who definitely needed one.
Later in the game, Kakko would run out of space on a breakaway for another scoring chance and was robbed of another as he took the puck around a wide open net, waited for a shot with practically every Kings player in his way and by some miracle, Cal Peterson got a blocker on it. This came after an incredible shift from the Kid Line where not only Peterson was without a stick, but one of the Kings defenders. A great chance for the Rangers who evidently, used up their puck luck for the night. Sure enough, once the Kings were finally able to clear the zone, Sean Walker found the back of the net for his first of the season, bringing the Kings back into it. Thankfully for the Rangers, less than a minute later, Mika Zibanejad used the signature Chris Kreider play, where he iced the puck, knowing Kreider would beat the defender and eventually beat Peterson short side to regain the Rangers lead.
The team kept on the pressure and did an outstanding job in the games final minutes of clogging up the neutral zone, keeping LA from generating any sort of life in the final stretch. A strong forecheck from Vesey led to Kreider walking in an empty net goal to put this one to bed at 5-3. For sure far from a complete sixty minute effort but the Rangers bounced back when they needed to and played strong after the first to get an essential two points. They have one more outing on the West Coast tonight in Anaheim as another win would leave them in a good spot going into Thanksgiving.
Rangers Game Day @ Anaheim Ducks 11/23/22
It’s Thanksgiving Eve and the Rangers have one more dance with the Ducks before heading off into the holiday. In the second half of a back to back, the Rangers will meet Anaheim for the second time this season as they look to extend their win streak to three games, a feat they have only accomplished once so far this season. The teams saw each other about a month ago when the Rangers came out on top by a score of 6-4. The Ducks were in the midst of what would become a seven game losing streak after that last meeting and have only won four games since. They are currently the worst team in the league and don’t have a ton to show for outside of Trevor Zegras who is always a fun player to watch. However, this is no excuse for the Rangers to go into this game, thinking they’re going to breeze their way into a win and for one player in particular, the rest of the team needs to show up for.
Jaro Halak has played in five games this season and has a record of 0-4-1. Several of those games were ones the Rangers had no business losing and it was quite evident after the last one that frustration is beginning to hit. The Rangers need to play like they did in the second and third periods last night and come out ready to dominate Anaheim. Halak hasn’t been bad despite not collecting a win and this team owes it to him to do whatever it takes to get him it tonight. He will likely be going up against John Gibson who has pretty atrocious numbers to start the season but has a history of being excellent when he is on his game. The Rangers need to get pucks on him early and find a way to get on the board sooner rather than later.
Cam Fowler, the veteran defenseman for the Ducks has been one of their only factors throughout the last stretch of games, with a pair of goals and five assists in his last five. He, along with the usually threat of Zegras, Terry and the former Blueshirts (Vatrano and Strome) will be one to keep an eye out throughout the evening. On the Rangers end, I wouldn’t expect much to change. Gallant is never one to toy with things when they seem to be working and despite last night’s first period, the team has won both of their last two. It wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world if Gallant gave Blais or someone the night off just to get Reaves or Kravtsov back in the mix, especially on the second half of a back to back but again, that typically isn’t how Gallant runs his ship. That being said, we can expect the same lines tonight:
Kreider - Zibanejad - Vesey
Panarin - Trocheck - Goodrow
Lafreniere - Chytil - Kakko
Blais - Carpenter - Gauthier
Lindgren - Fox
Miller - Trouba
Jones - Schneider
The Ducks are last or near last in a lot of major categories such as goals for, against, special teams and face-offs. The Rangers have no excuse to come out flat in this one other than it being a back to back. All the more reason for it not to be the worst thing in the world to get at least one pair of fresh legs out there tonight. Even if it is Ryan Reaves, simply for an energy boost to ensure this team comes out flying. Look for Kaapo Kakko, who will undoubtedly be hungry for more after all the chances last night to get this team on the board as well as Artemi Panarin who could not seem to find the back of the net for anything last night. The vibe around this team should be very high after last night and it will be just as pivotal to keep it going through the end of this road trip.
Chris Feldman
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