New York Rangers: A glimpse of the future (we hope)

The New York Rangers ended their home schedule with a dramatic shootout loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets.    In losing they got a glimpse of the greatness of a player who could be wearing Ranger blue next season.

The New York Rangers tied the game 2-2 with their goalie pulled and only 6.1 seconds left. After a thrilling overtime the teams went to the shootout.  The only player who could score was Artemi Panarin who had put the Blue Jackets ahead in the third period.  With the win, the Blue Jackets clinched a playoff spot and will try to win the first playoff series in their history.

As much as the point they gained will impact their lottery chances, the fact that they threw a scare into Columbus and almost won the game has to have a positive effect on this team moving forward and sends a message to the marquee free agent.

The good news is  the players who excelled in this game all have a future with the team. Mika ZIbanejad was outstanding. Chris Kreider played his best game in weeks.  Alexandar Georgiev stood on his head in goal again.  Pavel Buchnevich continues to raise his game to a new level.  The other young players like Brett Howden, Tony DeAngelo, Brady Skjei, Lias Andersson and Ryan Lindgren all showed a level of compete that bodes well for the future.

Georgiev matched former Vezina Trophy winner Sergei Bobrovsky save for save.  This was as good a performance by two goaltenders in one game as we have seen all season.  Both were just outstanding, especially Bobrovsky late in the third period.

But let’s talk about Artemi Panarin.  Panarin is the top unrestricted free agent on the market this summer and a sure target of the Rangers.  With the tally in this game, he now has 28 goals and 85 points.  He has topped his career high in assists and points and is three shy of his high of 31 goals.

He was stoned several times by Georgiev and the goal he scored was a goal scorer’s goal, turning a two on three into a wicked shot that beat the Ranger netminder.

Panarin likes to play the Rangers with 12 goals and 18 points in 12 games.  Ranger fans can only hope that it is the lure of New York City that compels him to get results like these.  His shootout goal was another goal scorer’s goal.

As far as the lottery goes, if the Rangers lose to Pittsburgh in their season finale, the Rangers will end up in fifth place overall.  By gaining the point, they lost a chance to finish as low as fourth.

Notes on the game

The Blue Jackets came out like gangbusters in the first period, outshooting the Rangers 15-6.  It was Georgiev’s period as he made a number of outstanding saves.

Georgiev extended his scoreless streak to 147 minutes and 23 seconds before Ryan Dzingel scored 2:25 into the third period.   Panarin added his goal 12 minutes later, setting up the last minute heroics.

The Rangers came out fast in the second period and Chris Kreider equaled his career high with his 28th goal of the season.

It came after a brilliant toe save by Georgiev.  DeAngelo cleared the puck and then Cam Atkinson gave it away setting up a two on one with Zibanejad and Kreider.   Jumping ahead by one goal, with Georgiev making those kind of saves and it seemed like an upset was looming.

The rest of the second period was scoreless and evenly played and Columbus emerged with a 11-9 advantage in shots.

After Dzingel and Panarin scored in the third, the Rangers pushed hard and spent several long shifts in the Blue Jackets zone. It was Sergei Bobrovsky’s turn to star as he made some unbelievable stops including one on a point blank shot by Brett Howden.

The final two minutes of the game was spent entirely in the Columbus zone. The Jackets iced the puck three times in 24 seconds and it finally caught up to them when Buchnevich got his own rebound and banked a shot off Bobrovsky’s pads into the net.

It’s the new Pavel as he is shooting first and it is paying off.  It was quite a goal and set off a raucous celebration at the Garden.  John Tortorella challenged the goal claiming goalie interference, but the goal was upheld.

With the playoffs on the line, Columbus controlled the overtime with six shots to the Rangers’ one.  Georgiev made one last dramatic stop on Atkinson and  the game went to a shootout.

The final shots were 41-27 as Georgiev faced 40 shots of more for the eighth time this season. He finished 3-5 in those games.

The Blue Jackets won 68% of the faceoffs.  This is the third straight game that the Rangers winning percentage didn’t hit 40% and that is something that definitely needs improvement next season. Brett Howden did win 47% of his draws including a crucial offensive zone faceoff with the goalie pulled.

Ryan Lindgren played over 17 minutes, but was on the ice for both Columbus goals.  He played a solid, physical game and was the victim of a three on one on one of the goals.

The Blue Jackets had two power plays that the Rangers killed.  The Blueshirts were unable to draw a penalty the entire game and never had a man advantage.

The Rangers ended up splitting the season series with Columbus (sort of) as they came away with four of a possible eight points. They did however, lose three of the four games going 1-1-2.

After the game, the Rangers held their annual “Blueshirts off our backs” thank you to the fans.