Recap: 5 Unanswered Goals Spark Much Needed Comeback Win
Like I said after last night’s recap, this game in Anaheim was gearing up to be a can’t lose and a must win. After a very disheartening start that left the Rangers trailing by two, this team persevered and scored five unanswered goals to snap their two game losing streak to pick up a massive pair of points with a 5-2 win over Anaheim. It was far from perfect and there’s still a fair amount of concerns to have but what’s important is this team found a way to win a game they needed to and by all accounts, seem to have some good vibes back following the win.
Couple of changes from the night before as Igor Shesterkin would start the second half of the back-to-back. In addition to that, the Rangers would also reverse the two lineup changes they made the night prior bringing Nick Bonino back in for Tyler Pitlick and Erik Gustafsson for Zac Jones.
1st Period:
Less than one minute into play, a bad turnover from Artemiy Panarin left notorious Rangers killer Adam Henrique all alone with Igor Shesterkin. Henrique cut to his back hand and sent the puck flying top shelf to give Anaheim the 1-0 lead early. The complete opposite start to the night the Rangers were hoping to get off to.
One thing that has become quite evident with the Rangers as of late is that second pairing of Jacob Trouba and K’Andre Miller. They have struggled significantly through recent showings and after another bad start in a stretch where the team has gone 3-7 in their last ten, remain paired together seeing as much ice time as they usually do. You have to wonder how much longer it will take before this team looks to try something new on the back end, even if it’s only temporary. Swapping Miller and Lindgren on the top two pairs makes so much sense but it doesn’t appear to be an option in the eyes of the coaching staff.
As the period went on, the Rangers were slowly and steadily getting more involved. They went without a shot on goal for the first six minutes of the play but eventually picked things up a bit. K’Andre Miller would ring a shot off the post followed by a couple of other chances that Lukas Dostal was able to come up with key saves on. The Rangers spent much more time in the offensive zone throughout the back half of the period but none of it posed much of a threat to Anaheim’s lead.
With about four and a half to go in the period, Anaheim entered the zone with great poise as Troy Terry sent a pass over to Leo Carlsson on a 3-on-2 odd-man rush. Carlsson would send the puck back to Terry who let a quick shot go that was blocked in front by Ryan Lindgren but left the loose puck on the right side for who else? Adam Henrique. A couple of hacks at it resulted in Henrique sending the puck to the back of the net for his second of the night to extend Anaheim’s lead, 2-0.
The Rangers would take a 2-0 deficit into the first intermission of the night as they were out-shot 7-5, out-hit, and turned the puck over way too much. On top of that, Anaheim registered 14 blocked shots which obviously played a huge role in the Rangers only getting five shots on goal. Through the first twenty, this team just continued to look incredibly lifeless as they had through their last two outings. Something would have to give if they were going to find their way back in this one.
2nd Period:
Once again, the Rangers would find themselves at a disadvantage within the first minute of the period. K’Andre MIller would take the first penalty of the night, getting his stick caught up high on Troy Terry just 37 seconds into the period. The Rangers headed to the penalty kill which has been one of their few bright spots as of late as they would go ahead to kill the man advantage off. As Miller came out of the box, he had a chance going the other way but was slowed down by the Ducks defender.
As the teams returned to even strength, the Rangers would begin shuffling the deck as Peter Laviolette started experimenting with some new and quite interesting lines. This included Panarin – Zibanejad – Vesey as well as Kreider – Trocheck – Lafrenière.
Six minutes in, the Rangers would get their first chance of the night on the man advantage as Cam Fowler was called for slashing Artemiy Panarin as he carried the puck into Anaheim’s zone. The Blueshirts wouldn’t see the entire advantage as Vincent Trocheck would be sent off for “contact to the head” on Robert Hagg. Trocheck was extremely distraught the second the officials arm went up and whistle blew and rightfully so.
Trocheck did not make any contact to the head of Hagg as he merely bumped him with his hip yet Hagg immediately jolted his head back as if he took a stick or something to the face. If anything, it should have been an embellishment call on Hagg but nevertheless, the team’s headed to 4-on-4 and eventually another penalty kill for New York. No harm as a result of any of the fouls as the score remained the same at 2-0 in favor of Anaheim.
Just over the midway mark of the night, Mika Zibanejad nearly put the Rangers on the board with a chance in front of the net and drew another penalty in the process. Mason McTavish would go off for holding as the Rangers top power play unit returned to the ice. Unfortunately, this team has gone ice cold with the man advantage once again as they just can not seem to find a way to get anything going as another two minutes came and went without a goal.
While it doesn’t matter because they still weren’t scoring and were still losing to one of the worst teams in the league, the Rangers were playing with some tenacity as they were playing better and controlling play more than they had lately through the bulk of the second period. So much so, the Ducks went over ten minutes without a shot on goal in the second period.
With two and a half to go in the third, Alexis Lafrenière went to work down low and would end up drawing a bit of a generous penalty on Urho Vaakanienen… such a fun hockey name. At any rate, he was awarded two minutes for hooking and the Rangers would go back to the power play as they desperately needed to find a way to spark something in this otherwise disastrous showing.
They would finally find the back of the net on the man advantage and it kicked off with Adam Fox icing the puck on that classic set play to Chris Kreider, who was in a position to beat the icing with his speed. Kreider then picked the puck up and fed a perfect pass to Vincent Trocheck in the slot who beat Lukas Dostal with a quick shot to bring the Rangers within one, 2-1.
Of course momentum would take a turn about a minute later as Chris Kreider was called for cross-checking in the neutral zone. Not the smartest penalty to take, especially after finally getting your team on the board to help turn things around but thankfully, the Rangers would fight off the remaining time on the clock and go into the second intermission only down by one goal. Shots after two were now 18-10 in favor of New York which was quite the turnaround after only having five after the first period. As a result, they were picking up more high danger scoring chances and showing a better effort than they had at the start. It would be a very important third period for this team as the game was still very much in reach.
3rd Period:
The Rangers still had a minute of time to kill on the Kreider penalty and were successful in doing so. As Kreider returned to the ice, he made the mistake of slowing down and tried forcing a pass over to Vincent Trocheck that wouldn’t result in much. With Kreider’s speed, he very well would have had a breakaway and in a game where things aren’t going easily, you have to be thinking take the shot any chance you get.
Just over five minutes into the third, the Ducks entered the Rangers zone and on a great passing play, got a quick low shot off Shesterkin which allowed for Mason McTavish to put home the rebound on the wide open side of the net. The Rangers opted to use their coach’s challenge on the play as they believed it to be offside. This ended up being a great decision as they caught a break and got the call to keep the game 2-1.
Play went on and the Rangers were doing everything they could to keep the pressure up in attempts to get the game tied up. In games like this, especially when things aren’t going right as of late, you have to push through and find ways to work through it. This means going to the dirty areas, playing physical, grinding across all different areas of the ice. Nick Bonino did a good job of going hard to the net and even mixing things up with a brief little scrum. That’s a veteran move right there as sometimes it takes that frustration or even a fight to spark some momentum.
Just over the ten minute mark of the third, the collective efforts paid off as Jacob Trouba let a shot go from the point that would deflect off the stick of Will Cuylle to find its way through Dostal to tie things up 2-2. A massive goal for this Rangers team but there was still lots of work to be done.
Will Cuylle would continue to make an impact on the game as just a couple of minutes later, he would draw a penalty on Mason McTavish for tripping. For the fourth time this evening, the Rangers power play unit took to the ice and this time, it wouldn’t take them all that long. Just 14 seconds in, Artemiy Panarin did a great job of moving the puck around before heading to Mika Zibanejad’s usual side of the ice where he would slap a one timer home down low to give the Rangers their first lead of the night. Vincent Trocheck would pick up his 300th career assist on the play.
The Rangers needed that and needed it so bad. The second power play goal of the night gave the Blueshirts a 3-2 lead but there was still plenty of time on the clock that would require a strong defensive effort. Troy Terry came very close to tying things back up for Anaheim but going the other way with it, it was Chris Kreider. He would let a shot go but would end up batting in his own rebound that went up and over Dostal to give his team some insurance with a 4-2 lead.
Anaheim would pull Dostal for the extra attacker and it would be Jimmy Vesey letting a shot go from the Rangers blueline to put a bow on this incredible come from behind victory. This team desperately needed a win going into this game as they now snap a two game losing streak on what has been a tough road trip thus far.
The Rangers have one more stop on the West Coast before bringing it home for a rematch with Vegas and a trip across the border to Ottawa. These three games are all that stand between this team and the All-Star break which given how things have been going as of late, they desperately need. As long as they can manage to win two of their next three, they’ll be in perfectly good shape heading into the break. The Rangers will have the chance to build off this big win as they’re back at it against the Sharks in San Jose on Tuesday Night.
