Recap: K’Andre Miller the Hero in 4-3 OT Win
The only thing better than the Rangers winning in overtime is knowing that this is the last late night puck drop for the foreseeable future. In what was a bit of a rocky night for the Blueshirts, they continued to find success on special teams, forcing the Canucks to overtime to pick up their first dramatic win of the season, extending their win streak to four games.
1st Period:
It was another slow start for two teams who don’t frequent visits with each other, however it was Vancouver who spent more time with the puck through the majority of the period. Jacob Trouba took the first penalty of the night at the end of a lengthy push from the Canucks as he roughed up Elias Pettersson in front of the Rangers net. Despite a couple looks from Vancouver, the Rangers managed to kill it off and shortly after, Trouba would draw a roughing call on Dakota Joshua to give them a chance with the man advantage.
Chris Kreider nearly gave the Rangers the lead with a deflection that looked identical to his power play goal in Calgary earlier in the week. Almost a minute into the man advantage, Filip Hronek sent the puck into the crowd on a clearing attempt which gave the Rangers a 5-on-3 advantage for 65 seconds. It would take them less than 45 to capitalize as Artemiy Panarin let a perfect snap shot go through traffic to give the Rangers a 1-0 lead.
The Rangers still had over a minute of power play time remaining but would only capitalize on the first attempt. Vancouver got a second crack at the power play with about six and a half to go in the second as Vincent Trocheck was called for slashing. Despite some great possession from the Canucks, the Rangers were again able to kill it off with Igor Shesterkin coming up with some key saves. Up to this point, he wasn’t overly tested but was making the right saves as needed.
At the end of one, the Rangers were up 1-0 with the shots even at eight a piece. Special teams were again a difference maker as the Rangers went 1/2 on the power play and were perfect on the penalty kill. The Canucks had the edge in expected goals for as well as high danger scoring chances but the Rangers were opportunistic with solid defense and strong goaltending helping them out big time.
2nd Period:
It was much of the same story going into the second period. The Rangers had a couple of looks but the Canucks were leading the way in scoring chances as well as overall play.
Seven minutes into the period, Sam Lafferty was sent off for interference to give the Rangers their third power play attempt of the night Ilya Mikheyev had a chance at a breakaway while shorthanded but a tremendous back check from Erik Gustafsson negated the opportunity. Time ran out as the teams returned to even strength. The Rangers were still ahead on the scoreboard as we approached the games midway point but Vancouver was without question becoming the better team. The Rangers were showing moments of sloppy play and just couldn’t seem to generate much in the offensive zone.
Later in the period, the Rangers got caught with too many men and the Canucks immediately amplified their pressure. They almost scored very soon into the power play on a loose puck in front of the net but again, Shesterkin came up with a big flailing save to keep his team in it. As the Rangers were just three seconds away from killing off yet another penalty, Filip Hronek let a shot go from the point that former friend JT Miller was able to deflect perfectly to tie the game up at one.
Vancouver went right back to the power play not long after the goal as Panarin was called for holding. Mika Zibanejad had an odd man rush with Kreider while shorthanded but couldn’t put the puck on net as the Canucks were able to get a stick on the shot before going the other way with it. The Rangers best shift of the night up to this point came in the final minute and a half of the second where they were moving the puck extraordinarily well, getting a couple strong looks in the process.
After two, the teams were now tied up at one with Vancouver beginning to outplay the Rangers more and more. Shots were now 16-13 in the Canucks favor as they had five high danger chances to the Rangers two. Despite how the game kind of felt, the Rangers weren’t out of this one by any means but needed to find a way to turn things around.
3rd Period:
The Rangers were able to carry that momentum established towards the end of the second into the third as they dominated possession through the first couple minutes. The fifth penalty of the night awarded to the Rangers would take away some of that energy as Jimmy Vesey was sent off for tripping. About halfway through the man advantage, Shesterkin came up with another big save which preceded Ryan Lindgren and JT Miller exchanging a couple intense blows although no additional penalties were assigned.
Another successful penalty kill for New York who advanced to 4 for 5 on the night. As the Rangers built back towards solid offensive pressure, Mika Zibanejad took a stick up high which gave them a four minute man advantage. What was a great opportunity for the Rangers to regain the lead, they gave up an odd man rush and Tyler Myers beat Shesterkin with a clean shot on the glove side to give the Canucks a 2-1. Myers entered the zone rather slowly and was looking for the pass the entire time up until he decided to shoot which threw Shesterkin off enough to beat him.
The Rangers gave up another odd man rush as they struggled to get anything going on the double minor power play. With under a minute to go on it, the Canucks were caught with five skaters on the ice which earned them a too many men penalty, giving the Rangers their second 5-on-3 of the night. The first of which, they scored their lone goal on and sure enough, they would convert again. This time it was Adam Fox with a Kreider-like redirect off a shot-pass from Artemiy Panarin at the point.
With a minute and a half remaining on the power play, the Rangers kept up the pressure and finally, after some good movement that resulted in the puck bouncing all around the slot, Mika Zibanejad picked up his first goal of the season, finishing on a quick one timer in his sweet spot off a feed from Adam Fox.
Neither team was overly busy on a consistent level throughout the night but the officials sure were. Immediately after the puck dropped, Filip Chytil was given a penalty for holding the puck as he grabbed it with his hand after losing his balance and held onto it for a little too long. The Rangers killed it off but not long after, Carson Soucy let a rocket of a slap shot go from the point through a screen that tied things back up at three. Coincidentally, the first even strength goal of the night.
Neither team was able to regain the lead in the final minutes of regulation as the Rangers would head into their first overtime of the 2023-24 season. Shots through regulation were 27-22 in favor of Vancouver. The Rangers went 3-for-6 on the power play and killed all but one of their six penalties.
Overtime:
The Canucks won the initial face-off which gave them the bulk of the possession in the early parts of overtime. Andrei Kuzmenko pulled off a beautiful move to fake around K’Andre Miller but Igor Shesterkin came up with two massive saves to keep this one going.
Pace picked up as the teams exchanged chances back and forth. Kuzmenko had another big chance on a breakaway where Shesterkin came up with the save and as the Rangers went the other way with it, K’Andre Miller called game. Chris Kreider entered the zone nice and slowly as he assessed his options. After opting to pass, K’Andre Miller let a perfect one timer go that sent the puck straight to the back of the net to give the Rangers their first overtime win of the season. Canucks and their fans alike weren’t too thrilled seeing as Kreider knocked Elias Pettersson down as the play turned.
Nevertheless, a good goal in what became quite the exciting outing. The Rangers extend their win streak to four as they remain perfect on their West Coast road trip. Was far from a perfect game with the Canucks likely falling more on the “deserve to win meter” but the Rangers persevered and found a way to win. They’ll be back at it Monday night in Winnipeg where they’ll wrap up the road trip and finally, drop the puck at a reasonable hour.
