Recap: Rangers Blow Four Leads, Fall to Montreal 5-4 in OT

Fresh off a 1-0 shootout win against Columbus the night prior, the Rangers were back on the road as they paid the Canadiens a visit in Montreal, Quebec. With both team’s on the second half of a back-to-back, this game could’ve gone one of two ways and luckily for Rangers fans, especially after such a low event game the night prior, this was certainly an excitable outing to say the least. Full of action that included big hits, fights and no shortage of goals, the Rangers came out of it with a point but fell short in overtime

1st Period: 

After struggling to clear the puck out of their own end, Jonathan Quick was tested early as he came up with a huge save to shut down a partial breakaway attempt from Alex Newhook. While the majority of the start was controlled by Montreal, that chance kicked off a stretch of good pace that kept play moving, uninterrupted through the first five minutes or so. The Rangers best chance came on a 2-on-1 led by Filip Chytil who opted for the shot instead of forcing the apps to Kreider. A good choice however, the puck was deflected out of play. 

It wasn’t a terrible start for the Rangers, although it wasn’t a great one either. It took nearly ten minutes for them to finally register a shot on goal; however just a minute or so later, they took advantage of a fortunate bounce. As K’Andre Miller threw the puck back in Montreal’s zone, the puck bounced right out to the front of the net. The hometown hero, Alexis Lafrenière was right there to put the puck on net to make it a 1-0 game. 

Just under three minutes later, Montreal brought it back to square one after the Rangers once again struggled with getting the puck out of their own end cleanly. As Josh Anderson picked off the puck along the half wall, Christian Dvorak threw it on net allowing for Brendan Gallagher to redirect it through Quick to make it a 1-1 game. 

Wouldn’t be long for the Rangers to get back on top as just 46 seconds later, a good interception from Will Cuylle gave him the chance for a shot in the slot that sailed right by Jakub Dobes to make it a 2-1 game. A huge goal for Cuylle who snaps a 15-game goal drought in the process. 

Things heated up and escalated rather quickly as Adam Edström and Brendan Gallagher started going at it along the boards which drew quite the crowd. Somehow, this led to Braden Schneider getting tangled up with Josh Anderson as the two went at it for an intense scrap that left Schneider bloody and in need of repairs. 

With about five minutes remaining in the opening period, it was again Montreal leading the charge in terms of offense. As the period continued to wind down, they saw a flurry of chances with a bouncing puck around Quick’s crease which led to another scrum a little less intense as the earlier one. The Rangers had one decent chance to close the period out that was otherwise led by their opponents. 

An eventful and certainly entertaining start as the Rangers managed to come out of the period with a lead despite being out-shot 9-5. A full twenty minutes of even strength hockey as coincidental penalties aside, there was no call for special teams up to this point. 

2nd Period:

It was only a matter of time before Matt Rempe and Arber Xhekaj had a proper go at it after having some discussions during warm ups. Of course Xhekaj hesitated to drop the gloves, likely on purpose to draw a penalty, which if that was indeed the motive, went perfectly according to plan. Not only did Montreal come out of it with a power play, but Xhekaj pretty definitively won the fight.  

Jonathan Quick was far and away the Rangers best penalty killer on that first power play of the night as he came up with a handful of key saves to help his team maintain the lead. The Rangers were technically successful in killing off the man advantage but as Filip Chytil returned to the ice, he couldn’t get enough on the interception while backchecking which allowed for a tough bounce that ended up in the back of the Rangers net, 2-2 game. 

Not only did the Rangers give up the goal but Quick did not look comfortable in the slightest in the process, all the more reason for the Rangers to need to give him a little more help here. The established intensity in this game continued as yet another scrum broke out following a flurry in Montreal’s crease. This time around, the Rangers ended up with the power play as Kaiden Guhle was given an additional roughing penalty. Not the most effective power play for the Rangers but they maintained some possession and had a couple of quality looks. 

Right around the midway mark of the outing, Josh Anderson delivered a cross-check to the back of Miller away from the puck which gave the Rangers their second power play of the period as well as the night. It would be a much better outcome this time around as Mika Zibanejad held onto the puck at the point and snuck a wrist shot through traffic to regain the lead, 3-2. 

Things quieted down a bit from there but about five minutes later a tough turnover for Will Borgen was picked off by Nick Suzuki who turned right around and fired the shot past Quick to tie the game for a third time, 3-3. Thankfully, the Rangers were quick to answer as Chris Kreider continued his hot streak, finishing on a great feed from Adam Fox down low after a strong push from the Rangers’ third line. 

Of course it can never be easy as the Rangers were at a disadvantage on that very next shift. Adam Fox sent the puck over the glass to send Montreal back to the power play. A strong effort on the penalty kill wound down the period as the Rangers took their 4-3 lead into the second intermission. Shots after forty were 20-18 now in the Rangers favor as the offense certainly picked up in the second of what was mainly a more physical outing.

3rd Period:

It wasn't a walk in the park type of night for Will Borgen by any means but he whole heartedly saved a goal at the start of the third period as he dove in front of a shot from Patrik Laine that otherwise would've went straight to the back of the net. Later that shift, Quick took a hard shot up high that left him a bit shaken up but seemingly not enough to jeopardize his night.

About five minutes in, Montreal was back to the power play as Urho Vaakanainen took down Nick Suzuki away from the play, earning him two minutes for interference. It was a fast paced power play for Montreal but the Rangers were successful in holding them off. As Vaakanainen returned to the ice, he saw a chance off the rush and came so close, ringing a shot off the post before crashing into the other. This would be just the beginning off of the rush chances going either way.

Filip Chytil nearly extended the Rangers lead going one way as the Canadiens nearly converted the other. As this game went on, the more clear it was becoming that Jonathan Quick was not necessarily 100% making it all the more important for the Rangers to really hunker down and keep the puck out of their own end. Sure enough, with about seven minutes to go, Juraj Slafkovsky went hard to the net and converted on a rebound Quick had no chance with, tying things up for a fourth time, 4-4.

From that moment on, it pretty much felt that this game was destined for overtime. After seven minutes of tight nit play, the Rangers were headed to their second overtime of the weekend, third in their last six.

Overtime:

The Panarin, Trocheck, Fox trio had a couple of huge chances to put an end to things but were shut down by a pair of massive saves from Dobes. That would come around to cost the Rangers as Patrik Laine finished on a give and go with Guhle to beat Jonathan Quick and secure the extra point for Montreal. A bit of a missed call just prior to the goal as Chytil was taken down from behind but alas, the Rangers fell just short.

Truly a brutal way to end what should have been a milestone night for the Rangers veteran netminder who had quite the gutsy performance. A tough break in a game where the Rangers certainly could have used the extra point but continue to slowly climb their way back up the standings. They'll be back at it Tuesday night as they kick off a four game home stand against the Ottawa Senators.