New York Rangers: Gauthier’s debut, peak Kreider, other takeaways
An Original Six matchup lived up to the hype as the New York Rangers exploded in the third period to crush the Chicago Blackhawks 6-3 at United Center on Wednesday.
In what was the first game of the Moms trip, the New York Rangers certainly put on a show for their heroes and for the national TV audience given that the game was on NBC.
It was a huge win for the Blueshirts who recovered from a tough loss to the Boston Bruins on Sunday, and it now sets up a gigantic and mouthwatering showdown with the Carolina Hurricanes on Friday.
Filip Chytil lasered a wrister through the five-hole of Robin Lehner to get the show started in the first period, before Dominik Kubalik blasted a one-timer from Duncan Keith‘s 500th career NHL assist to make it a tied game.
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Those two goals were the only ones scored in the opening two periods, although the game would truly explode in the final period.
And it was the Rangers who really seized the day as they truly dominated the final 20 minutes of play.
The onslaught started thanks to Pavel Buchnevich who snapped a quick shot past Lehner after being fed a pass from Chris Kreider from behind the net.
Ryan Strome, who had a cool night after seeing his mom read the lineup before facing off against his brother Dylan to start the game, got to the front of the net on the power play and fired home the rebound on the turn.
Chicago did fight back, however, as Kubalik capitalized on a breakdown in the Rangers zone before embarking on a breakaway and slipping the puck through Igor Shesterkin‘s five-hole.
That only served to spark the Rangers offense into life once again, though, and Kreider continued his hot streak by doing what he does best and driving hard to the net before beating Lehner with a backhander.
Artemi Panarin, who began his NHL career with the Blackhawks, then gave that franchise another reminder of what they had lost by unleashing a hell of a shot past Lehner.
Drake Caggiula did make it a two-goal game but the Rangers were always in control and Mika Zibanejad iced the game with his fourth point of the night.
It was a big win for the New York Rangers who are hanging on in there in the postseason race, and we had some takeaways from an entertaining contest…