New York Rangers: The real deal, other takeaways from dramatic Isles win
Putting the drama of the NHL Trade Deadline behind them, the New York Rangers recovered from a blip to stun the New York Islanders in overtime on Tuesday at the Nassau Coliseum.
In what was the finale of the Battle of New York, the New York Rangers again showed the will to battle through and pick up what was a huge W.
The Blueshirts also spoiled the debut of Jean-Gabriel Pageau, who did score in his first game as an Islander.
And, while it wasn’t a perfectly-executed game from the Blueshirts, they found a way to gut out the win and that is an impressive and important hallmark of any contending team.
It was a good start for the Rangers, though, as Artemi Panarin one-timed a delicious feed from Ryan Lindgren past Semyon Varlamov at the end of the first period.
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Gregg McKegg, who has proved to be a useful role player for the Blueshirts, redirected a shot from the point from Brendan Lemieux to put his team in the driving seat.
The Islanders had dominated the Rangers, though, holding a 31-20 shot advantage, boasting an 18-6 High-Danger chances for advantage and a 3.07 xGF (per NaturalStatTrick).
So, it wasn’t a surprise when Pageau marked his Islanders debut with a goal after taking advantage of a lucky bounce.
Brett Howden‘s eighth goal of the year at 9:34 in the third period did make it a two-goal game again, but the Islanders were banging on the door all game and they kicked it down emphatically.
The fightback started on the power play after Jordan Eberle showed slick hands to beat Alexandar Georgiev, before Brock Nelson made it a tied game with seconds remaining, redirecting a shot past Georgiev.
However, while the Rangers could have easily collapsed, they instead regained their composure and showed their newfound mental fortitude to deliver the ultimate gut punch.
With just 28 seconds on the board in overtime, Panarin showed his brilliance by dragging three Islanders players with him over to the boards, before feeding a pass over to Mika Zibanejad who absolutely hammered the game-winner past Varlamov.
It was a stunning play in what was a playoff-like atmosphere and contest, and it was a huge win for the New York Rangers.
While the Islanders may have been the better team and while they may have gripes over the officiating, good teams find a way to win even when they aren’t at their best and the Blueshirts created their own luck on Tuesday.
We had some takeaways from what was an exhilarating contest at the Nassau Coliseum…
1. Record-Breakers
This was a huge win for the New York Rangers against their rivals, but it was also significant in more ways than one.
Not only did they clinch the season series against the Islanders, but the Blueshirts also achieved something that had never been done before in the 94-year history of this storied franchise.
By winning at the Nassau Coliseum – although it felt like home ice given the sheer number of Blueshirts in attendance – the Rangers won their eighth straight game on the road.
That is a remarkable run and the way the Rangers have performed away from MSG has played a huge role in their recent success.
In total, New York is 8-1-0 in their last nine outings and the win over their rivals on Tuesday was their fourth straight.
The Rangers are now four points away from the Columbus Blue Jackets and five points back from the Islanders.
Although not a perfect game by anyone’s standards, this was a momentous win for the Rangers who declared on Monday that they were ready to win now, and they certainly walked the walk last night.
While they may have had some luck with some of the officiating decisions, the Blueshirts deserved to win this game.
Let’s not forget, the Islanders were riding the high of going all in after trading for Jean-Gabriel Pageau at the Trade Deadline, while the Nassau Coliseum is one of the most intimidating arenas to play at.
Plus, the Rangers were no doubt feeling it after seeing the popular Brady Skjei traded to the Carolina Hurricanes on Monday, while they were also dealt a gut punch with both Igor Shesterkin and Pavel Buchnevich involved in a car crash on Sunday.
So, all in all, the Rangers were already emotionally drained and they had to drag themselves off the canvas on a number of occasions as the Islanders kept fighting back.
However, this team has proven over and over again recently that they are made of tough stuff and they have matured beyond belief.
They took the body blows, soaked up the pressure and then fought back themselves to deliver the knockout blow in overtime, which we will get on to shortly.
This was another pivotal step in the maturation process of this young team, and the future looks a lot brighter all of a sudden.
2. Smith stepping up to the plate
It was an emotional day on Monday for the New York Rangers who traded popular defenseman Brady Skjei to the Carolina Hurricanes for a 2020 First-Round pick.
Drafted with the 28th overall pick in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft, Skjei had been nurtured and developed by the Rangers, so it was a sad day.
The locker room would no doubt have been impacted by that trade, but such is the nature of sports.
Time waits for nobody in the NHL so attention quickly turned to who would join Jacob Trouba on the top defensive pairing, and it was Brendan Smith who got the nod.
And, as has been the case under David Quinn, Smith delivered and did what was asked of him against the Islanders.
Logging 18:25 minutes of total ice-time, a season-high, Smith recorded one point, two hits, one blocked shot and a +1 rating.
Smith did a solid job alongside Trouba and it could actually be a pairing that works for the remainder of the year.
After all, while he’s not a flashy player and won’t make highlight-reel plays, you know what you are going to get with Smith.
And he can contribute offensively as seen against the Isles after the veteran blasted a shot from the point, which was tipped in by Brett Howden to give the Rangers a two-goal lead.
On a night when the Blueshirts did what they had to do in order to secure a big W, Brendan Smith really stepped up to the plate.
3. Overtime Magic
When we look back at this year, no matter what happens, Artemi Panarin will dominate the highlight-reel.
The Russian stud has been sensational all year and he achieved a career-high in goals after tallying his 32nd of the season against the Islanders.
But, it is the play made by the forward in overtime that could go down as one of the most important in the Blueshirts’ season.
After taking a body blow by allowing a goal in the waning seconds of regulation, you could have forgiven the Rangers for being dazed in overtime.
But, with just 28 seconds played, the Baby Rangers delivered the knockout blow and it was down to one person.
With the Islanders setting up for an entry into the offensive zone, Panarin stepped up to strip the puck from Anthony Beauvillier before charging up ice.
1️⃣ insane OT winner, 4️⃣ different angles. 👀 #NYR | @NYRangers pic.twitter.com/4headRZGtG
— Rangers on MSG (@RangersMSGN) February 26, 2020
With three players skating towards him in order to try and shutdown the play, Panarin used his body to shield the puck, holding off an opposing player.
Then, on the turn, Panarin had both the strength to keep the puck and the intelligence to dish a pass into the open ice where Mika Zibanejad met it with an absolute thunderous shot to record the game-winner.
Now, there’s one major detail that really caught my eye during Panarin’s high-level play, and that was the wing’s awareness to skate to the boards.
As he did this, he took not one, not two but three Islanders with him thus leaving the ice wide open for his teammates to exploit.
It was just a stunning play by Panarin and a reminder that the superstar boasts an elite hockey IQ, as well as everything else he brings to the table.
And that wicked release by Zibanejad is something I can watch all day.
4. Trouba dishes out the punishment
One of the biggest off-season acquisitions, Jacob Trouba came with high expectations after signing a big-ticket seven-year, $56,000,000 contract.
And, while he may not have quite hit the highs of his last year in Winnipeg, I have never quite understood some of the criticisms of Trouba.
For starters, we have to remember that these guys are human too and it can take a while to adapt to new surroundings.
Plus, this team has been in transition and they have only just started to put it all together, so there is that as well.
But, there is no doubt in my head that Trouba will become a cornerstone piece of this team going forward.
He is an absolute horse and can play the role of a shutdown defenseman, and we saw why on Tuesday.
The 26-year-old had arguably his best game as a Ranger against the Islanders, laying on four hits and three blocked shots in 18:54 minutes of total ice time.
He was a monster when it came to putting the shackles on Mathew Barzal, but his finest moment came when he absolutely ran through Michael Dal Colle with a huge hit.
Some will argue that it was an illegal hit to the head, as Jean-Gabriel Pageau did, and Trouba had no problems dropping the gloves and giving a pounding to the Islanders’ new star.
Although, if you are an old-school hockey fan and if you watch the play closely, it was a clean hit with Dal Colle having his head down while Trouba had his elbow tucked in. Many will disagree but that was my point of view.
This is why the Rangers paid the big bucks to Trouba in free agency. He’s an absolute monster and that kind of intensity is just what this team needs.
5. Remember me?
Amid all the hype surrounding the young prince in Igor Shesterkin, it is easy to forget that Alexandar Georgiev once attracted a bucketload of praise.
Well, with Shesterkin out for at least a few weeks after being involved in a car accident on Sunday, Georgiev got his chance to shine and remind people of why he is also the future of Rangers goaltending.
Under seige for most of the game, the 24-year-old stopped 42 of the 45 shots he faced to really frustrate the Islanders.
Georgiev surmounted a bevy of challenges, including allowing the goal that tied the game late in the third period, and he was huge for his team.
He made a plethora of huge saves and the goalie is now 5-3-0 with a .921 Save Percentage and a 2.55 Goals Against Average since Shesterkin made his NHL debut.
Also, Georgiev continues to haunt and slay the Islanders with the netminder now 5-2-0 against the Islanders in his career with a Save Percentage of .934.
Next. Looking ahead to the 2021 Expansion Draft. dark
It was another hugely impressive outing from Georgiev who gave us a reminder that Shesterkin isn’t the only hot goalie in town.
The future on Broadway looks bright. Very bright indeed.