Given what this game could eventually be remembered for, the fact that the New York Rangers captured a huge win over one of the best teams in the NHL almost went unnoticed.
With all the headlines dominated by Igor Shesterkin‘s debut for the New York Rangers, maybe enough is not being made of the fact that the Blueshirts got the better of an elite team.
Coming into the game the Avalanche boasted the most potent offense in the entire NHL, and they certainly put their abundance of firepower to good use in the opening minutes.
With Shesterkin yet to face a shot, the rookie goalie was given a ‘welcome to the NHL’ moment as J.T. Compher deflected a Samuel Girard shot past him to get Colorado on the board.
It got worse for Shesterkin as his dream night looked to be turning into a nightmare thanks to Nathan MacKinnon, who marked his 500th career NHL game in style.
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Shesterkin, like his team, eventually settled down, got into a groove and allowed just one more puck to pass him for the remainder of the contest.
And that paved the way for the Rangers to mount a comeback and, unlike in their outing against the Edmonton Oilers, they saw it all the way through.
It started with Chris Kreider who redirected Ryan Strome‘s pass through the five-hole of Philipp Grubauer for a Rangers power play goal.
Mika Zibanejad then made it a tied game heading into the second period after swatting a deflected pass beyond Grubauer.
The momentum was firmly with the Rangers and they broke the tie in the middle frame thanks to Brady Skjei, who unleashed a thunderous slap shot from the point that sailed past Grubauer.
Colorado did tie the game as J.T. Compher emerged from behind the net to backhand a shot past Shesterkin.
However, Strome took full advantage of a quick pass from Jesper Fast to beat a stranded Grubauer to give the Rangers the lead again, while Shesterkin stood on his head in the third period to stop all 13 shots fired at him.
That gave the Blueshirts the chance to grind out the win, a huge victory that was secured when Artemi Panarin iced the game with an empty-netter from the blue line.
To take down one of the most offensively potent teams in the NHL is an impressive feat on any given day, and we had some takeaways from the New York Rangers’ success over the Colorado Avalanche…