Grand larceny as the Rangers steal a 2-1 OT win in Toronto

Notes on the game

The Rangers were badly outshot, 41-23 with that 17-2 margin in the second period.  Surprisingly, the Blueshirts outshot the Maple Leafs in the overtime, 4-3.

At even strength, the Maple Leafs had 52 scoring chances to 38 for the Rangers.  In all situations, they had 73 scoring chances to 50 for the Blueshirts.

Faceoffs were another disaster with the Leafs winning 41 to the Rangers 13.  Yes, 41 to 13. The Rangers haven’t lost over 40 faceoffs in a game since December 2019 when the Maple Leafs won 43 draws to the Rangers 23.

Mika Zibanejad was the best Ranger on draws, winning 29% of his faceoffs (6 of 21).  Of course, he won the most important one in overtime as it lead to the winning goal.

That faceoff was the result of a tremendous stop by Campbell on a two-on-one with Zibanejad and Miller with the Swede taking the shot.

Zibanejad had another dynamic game with a goal and an assist. He led all Rangers with four shots on goal and now leads the team in scoring with five points.

If anyone needs reminding, it took Zibanejad 17 games to get to five points last season.  He is healthy and off to a great start.

Panarin had never gone without a goal in the first four games of a season and he made sure that it wouldn’t happen.

The Rangers outhit the Maple Leafs 33-19, the third time in four games they have outhit the opposition.

The Rangers power play was pitiful with only two shots on three man advantages. They are now 2-16 on the season.  Without Strome and Kakko we are seeing Dryden Hunt on the power play and that is not a recipe for success.

On a good note, the penalty kill was perfect for the second straight game. After starting the season allowing four goals on eight tries, they have now given up four goals on 14 tries.

Shesterkin allowed the one goal and it was a goal that the Rangers could have challenged.  The goalie had made the stop on a shot by Morgan Rielly and the puck was under his pad when Michael Bunting crashed the net and forced the pad into the net with his leg as the puck came free.

The question was whether Ranger blueliner Patrik Nemeth forced Bunting into the crease.   For what it’s worth, over the last five years Gallant is 12-26 in coaches challenges so he may be reluctant to take a penalty if he loses.  He is 1-0 so far this season.

Julien Gauthier got his first start of the season and was okay in 9:07 minutes, fewest of any Ranger.  He had one good scoring opportunity, but couldn’t finish and that is becoming a fact of life.   Gauthier scored 69 goals in 184 games in the AHL, but he cannot buy a goal in the NHL.  Jeez, do you think the goaltending is better in the big leagues?

Let’s give a kudo to the Rangers defense corps.  Despite being so badly dominated, they still did a solid job of letting Shesterkin see shots and clearing the crease and rebounds.  Jacob  Trouba was noticeable on that front and he also was robbed by Jack Campbell in overtime.

Maybe we will see Morgan Barron in the lineup on Thursday in Nashville.  He is a bigger body than Dryden Hunt and as big as Gauthier. He is solid on faceoffs and scored twice in two games in Hartford.

That’s the fourth straight game with absolutely no goal production from the bottom six.

That’s four wins in a row at Scotiabank Arena for the Blueshirts. They play one more time in Toronto  on November 18.

The last time the Rangers scored as few as eight goals in their first four games was 2013-14 when they had only six goals in four games. The last time they had five points in their first four games was in 2015-16 when they started with a 3-1 record.  That was also the last time that they won their first two road games of the season.

It’s kind of early in the season but….

The Rangers are tied for first place in the Metropolitan Division with the Penguins.

The Rangers are tenth lowest with an average of 2.50 goals allowed per game.

They lead the league with 115 hits and are fourth in the NHL, averaging 28.11 hits per game.

The Rangers lead the league with 53 blocked shots and are 16th in the NHL, averaging almost 13 blocks per 60 minutes.xt