New York Rangers 1, Blackhawks 0: (Nick) Holden on for a Victory

The New York Rangers defeated the Chicago Blackhawks 1-0 in overtime on Friday night. Antti Raanta, starting back to back games, shutout his former team, while Nick Holden scored the overtime winner.

In a feature here at Blue Line Station, we will be providing thoughts and analysis following every Rangers game. Make sure to stop by after games to see what you might have missed!

Game Action:

• Quickly into the first period, former Ranger Michal Rozsival handed New York a power-play. Few chances resulted in nothing, the norm of late.
• Antti Raanta made a brilliant save to keep the Blackhawks off the board five minutes into the game. The Rangers struggled with turnovers early in the action.

• The first marquee save was on a Mats Zuccarello pass directly to the Blackhawks. The play was a disaster, but let’s look at a positive here. Mats Zuccarello does not get enough credit for his ability to make wizardly plays with minimal mistakes.
• The Rangers suffered their nightly own zone pinning soon after, but the Blackhawks refused to score. Dan Girardi and Ryan McDonagh were the defensemen on ice against Chicago’s top line. Couldn’t have seen that coming.
• New York’s only significant scoring opportunity came on a Kreider-eseque breakaway by J.T. Miller with a minute left. Scott Darling stopped it, ending the first period 0-0, Rangers up 12-9 in shots.
• Antti Raanta continued to dominate his former team until the first TV timeout, with the Rangers earning chances of their own. Marc Staal contributed offensively, a welcomed (and now common) site.
• After Nick Holden buried Patrick Kane from behind, Kane found himself 1 on 0 against Raanta. Raanta made the stop, and Kane caught J.T. Miller in the mouth with a high stick. Miller’s suffered more than any Ranger in recent weeks, so add Kane’s stick to the laundry list of concerns.
• The Rangers power-play failed (again) and Antti Raanta answered with a flurry of marvelous saves. The last of them will be on the highlight reels all season long.

• A goal mouth scramble handed Darling the opportunity to match Raanta’s magic twice, and Darling was up to the task. Beautiful goaltending on both ends of the ice.
• The Blackhawks received their first power-play on a Jimmy Vesey high sticking call. New York killed off the penalty, 0-0 after 2, Rangers up 23-19 in shots.
• Beginning the third period, Marek Hrivik-Oscar Lindberg-Nicklas Jensen pinned the Blackhawks in their own zone. Points to you if you predicted that one.
• The Rangers could not score on the opportunity, but the Blackhawks took advantage of their opportunity-sort of. A Marian Hossa wrister deflected off of Ryan McDonagh and past Antti Raanta, but the goal was reviewed and determined offsides. Play on.
• With a bit over 10 minutes remaining, McDonagh misguidedly pinched to keep an offensive zone shift alive, leading to a Blackhawks 2 on 1. Girardi, known for his inability to stifle odd-man rushes, made a terrific play. The Blackhawks failed to get the puck on net, as Girardi swept the puck away. More of that, please.
• Following more back and forth action and near-goals, regulation ended scoreless. The Rangers entered their second overtime of the season.
• A mere 55 seconds into overtime, Nick Holden replaced Ryan McDonagh on the ice. No one picked up Holden, Stepan found him, and Holden was alone in the slot. Holden fired the puck past a helpless Scott Darling for the Rangers first overtime victory of the season. 1-0 Rangers win, 37-26 Rangers in shots. What a game.

Final Thoughts:

• The Rangers and Blackhawks were an Alec Martinez overtime goal away from meeting in the 2013-14 Stanley Cup Final. No way to know what would have happened, but always time to wonder.
• Count that as one of the most thrilling 1-0 games two teams could play. Raanta and Darling traded spectacular saves throughout the night. Shame one of the pair had to lose.
• One day Alain Vigneault will realize Ryan McDonagh does not belong on a pair with Dan Girardi, and the Rangers possession numbers will rise accordingly. McDonagh and Girardi are paired by opponents top lines every game.
• Antti Raanta was phenomenal, but Henrik Lundqvist must get the start on Sunday night. Lundqvist is an elite goaltender being paid over $8 Million for a reason. Antti Raanta is a backup riding a hot streak.
• The Rangers out-possessed their opponents for the third consecutive game. Considering the putrid possession numbers on the year, that’s a positive sign for New York.

Next: Rangers wasting Ryan McDonagh

• Back to New York on Sunday night for the next game. The New Jersey Devils will visit Madison Square Garden for the first time on the season.