Recap: Rangers Make History With Overtime Win

The Rangers wrap up their five game road trip through Seattle and Western Canada with another thrilling come from behind overtime win against the Winnipeg Jets, making history in the process. It was a grind of a night very similar to their win in Vancouver as this team was growing noticeably tired from the long road trip. Nevertheless, they found a way to win and have put themselves in a tremendous position to start the season.

1st Period:

The third line got the start for the Rangers as Blake Wheeler, who spent 13 years with the Jets (and Thrashers), several of which as their captain, returned to Winnipeg for the first time since signing with New York in the summer. He would go on to have a great first period, accounting for almost half of his team’s shots on goal through the first twenty. Wheeler also received a warm welcome from the Winnipeg fans during his tribute video.

The Rangers looked surprisingly sharp early on in this one despite being on their fifth game of a long road trip. They were forcing turnovers early on which resulted in their first big chance of the night as Alexis Lafrenière intercepted a pass from Adam Lowry for a breakaway. Later on in the period, Kaapo Kakko would have a chance on the breakaway as well but both opportunities resulted in the puck going just wide of the net.

The bulk of the action from the first came in the final two minutes as the Rangers got on the board with about a minute and a half to go. Jacob Trouba let a slap shot pass intended for the stick blade of Artemiy Panarin go from the point that deflected perfectly in to make it a 1-0 game. Panarin extends his point streak into the ninth game of the season as he is tied with Chris Kreider for team lead in goals. Not a bad way to celebrate your 32nd birthday.

Just as the period was coming to an end, the Jets were able to tie things back up off a quick shot from David Gustafsson following a nice zone entry by Cole Perfetti.

Shots were even at ten through the games first twenty as the score was tied up at one. The Rangers had the edge in hits, blocked shots, expected goals for and high danger chances with Winnipeg having the slight edge in face-offs, winning nine of seventeen.

2nd Period:

No penalties to start the game but just a minute into the second period, Nino Niederreiter took the first one of the night after delivering a cross check in front of Igor Shesterkin in the defensive zone.

The Rangers came close to regaining the lead as the puck went off the post and sat just in front of the goal line for a brief moment before Brendan Dillon got a stick on it to keep it out. The Rangers were credited with four shots on goal during the man advantage but the score remained locked at one. Winnipeg would go the other way with it which drew the Rangers first penalty of the night as Erik Gustafsson was called for holding. Rangers were aggressive on their first shorthanded attempt, getting a couple scoring chances in the process as they killed off the penalty.

Both goaltenders were excellent in what would become a scoreless period with Shesterkin bailing the Rangers out on more than one occasion. The Jets had quite the surge for over a quarter of the period which led to a surplus of scoring chances. They would get a second look at the power play as Gustafsson took his second penalty of the night, this time for slashing.

The Rangers penalty killers remained perfect as time in the second period continued to wear down. Shots of goal through two were 20-19 in favor of Winnipeg with the Jets having the close to double the scoring chances the Rangers had. Still, the Rangers led the charge in blocked shots, hits, as well as high danger scoring chances, while improving to 57% on face-offs, winning 21 of 37.

3rd Period:

Both teams were without a shot on goal through the first couple minutes of the period but the Rangers got the first strong chance with Will Cuylle crashing the net. A rough turnover from Braden Schneider led to the Jets going the other way with it on an odd-man rush. While Shesterkin made the initial save, Nikolaj Ehlers was able to capitalize on the wrap-around attempt that followed it to make it a 2-1 game. That goal would be Ehlers’ 400th career point.

As time went on in the games final period, the Rangers were starting to look like a team at the end of a long road trip. They were without an official shot on goal through most of  the first half of the period and couldn’t manage to get much of anything generated. Mika Zibanejad drew an interference call with just over eleven minutes to go in the game, giving the Rangers their second power play chance of the night. Despite a strong kill from Winnipeg, the Rangers managed to get a couple of good chances but they continued to trail the game by a goal.

The Rangers got another power play chance just a couple of minutes later and for his sixth goal of the season, Chris Kreider executed another brilliant tip-in off an Adam Fox shot from the point to tie the game back up at two.

Both teams exchanged chances down the final stretch and with 18 seconds to go in regulation, Ryan Lindgren was assigned a questionable tripping penalty after Mason Appleton lost his balance in the corner. For the second game in a row, the Rangers were headed to overtime but would start with a 4-on-3 disadvantage.

Overtime:

The Rangers killed off the Winnipeg power play and spent about a minute and a half skating at 4-on-4. After finally getting the whistle, the Rangers would have the advantage at 3-on-3 and with less than thirty seconds to go, Artemiy Panarin passed it over to Mika Zibanejad who let a one timer go to call game. For the first time in franchise history, the Rangers won every single game of a road trip lasting five or more games. An incredible way to wrap up a tough road trip to start the season.

The Rangers advance to 7-2-0 to start the season as they’ll head back home to New York. They’ll have two days in between games before hosting the Carolina Hurricanes Thursday Night and you have to think they’ve earned at least one full day off. It’s hard to have imagined a more ideal start as the Rangers will head into November with a great deal of confidence.