Rangers remain undefeated outside
As one of the NHL’s signature franchises with one of the best fan bases in sports, it’s not exactly a surprise that the Rangers were selected to participate in a second winter classic. Following the team’s success against the Flyers back in 2011 and the two wins in the Stadium series games in 2014, the team returned to brave the elements for the fourth time.
On a blisteringly cold New Year’s day that required multiple stoppages due to an extreme wind chill that pushed temperatures into the single digits, the Rangers kept on rolling outside. At this point in time, the team had just lost Chris Kreider to a blood clot in his shoulder and were just a few weeks away from losing Kevin Shattenkirk to knee surgery.
The Rangers jumped out to an early 2-0 lead on goals in the first period from Paul Carey (remember him?) and Michael Grabner. However, like many games last season, once New York got a lead it began to coast and it allowed the Sabres to sneak back into the game.
However, then Ranger darling J.T. Miller won the game for New York in overtime and sent the majority Ranger fan crowd home happy from Flushing. As someone who braved the frigid temperatures that day, I’ll remain grateful to Miller forever for saving me from having to sit through a shootout in the single digit weather.