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Late Kreider Goal Elevates Rangers Past Islanders

A power play goal gave the Rangers back-to-back victories against their rival.

First Period

The Rangers have played much better in the last 30 days, but this period was reminiscent of  earlier parts of the season where the team got absolutely, collectively piled on. The Islanders carried play for the entire period and outshot the Rangers 22-to-6. Alexandar Georgiev stood on his head and kept it scoreless until the final minute. Jacob Trouba lackadaisically lost possession behind the net and Josh Bailey was able to skate up to and blast a loose puck in the slot like it was the hardest shot competition.

Second Period

Both teams reverse course in period two, as the Rangers were the better team. Despite having plenty of offensive zone possession, the Rangers had a difficult time finding quality shooting opportunities. That changed roughly thirteen minutes into the period when the Artemi Panarin drew a power play. They put a ton of pressure on the Islanders’ penalty kill and eventually scored an ugly but well-deserved goal. Tony DeAngelo sent the puck into a pile of bodies above the crease. After some chaos, Mika Zibanejad managed to get just enough on the puck to direct it past the goal-line, though this was only determined minutes later after video review.

The Islanders earned a few power-play opportunities late in the period, but Georgiev again stood strong.

Third Period

Though not to the same degree as the first period, the Rangers again found themselves on their heels in this period.

The Rangers were actually the first to strike. The Rangers went to the penalty kill following a bad interference penalty by Tony DeAngelo. The Rangers’ PK stood strong, with Ryan Lindgren in particular swallowing up a number of quality Islanders’ shooting opportunities. DeAngelo came out of the box and found a loose puck in the neutral zone. He went on the transition with Jesper Fast and put a clever shot past Semyon Varlamov.

The Islanders tied the game up with 7:20 left. Artemi Panarin was controversially called for embellishment following a trip by Casey Cizikas. At four-on-four, Anthony Beauvillier dumped a puck past Brady Skjei and Jacob Trouba. The Nassau Coliseum boards trampolined the puck into the slot and Beauvillier won the race to it before slipping it past Georgiev.

Just as the game appeared headed to overtime, Jesper Fast drew a penalty in the offensive zone when Derick Brassard held him in the corner. The Rangers quickly went to work. Panarin made an excellent zone entry with possession. He played catch with DeAngelo in the offensive zone and then found Mika Zibanejad in the high slot for a one-timer. Chris Kreider slotted home the rebound with just 25 seconds remaining.

The Rangers certainly had their share of moments in this game and calling it a “stolen” win is probably too radical. It’s fair to say, though, that they needed some elite stretches from Alexandar Georgiev in the first and third periods in order to keep the score where it was at. It’s a massive two points in the standings and, of course, another data point for establishing Georgiev as a quality goaltender for the future; either in New York or elsewhere.

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