Rangers pull off a late comeback in 3-2 win in Arizona

Things looked pretty grim for the New York Rangers, trailing 2-1 with time winding down in the third period.  They were on the verge of losing their third straight game, a disheartening loss to the worst team in the NHL.  Alarms were going off and things were beginning to look desperate. That’s when the Coyotes demonstrated why they are so bad, giving the Rangers two straight power plays and losing the game on two power play goals in the last six minutes.

Snatching a win from the jaws of defeat is great, no matter who the opponent is, but you cannot overlook the fact that for 54 minutes, the Coyotes outplayed the Rangers. The Blueshirts were repeatedly prevented from entering the Arizona zone, gave up a number of odd man rushes and had fewer shot attempts.  They gave up a shorthanded goal and allowed the Coyotes to take the lead in the third period.  That’s when the power play took over.

After the game, Gerard Gallant was predictably upbeat about the win. “I thought it was great, we battled hard, we found a way to win. We looked pretty tired at times, but it’s a good win.”

Mika Zibanejad was much more realistic saying it was “just one of those nights where you have to battle, might not be the prettiest, but it’s two points and that’s the most important thing.”   He said that  the Rangers “complicated things a little bit too much…the power play came up big.”

So, the losing streak ends at two games and with the Caps losing in overtime, the Rangers are back in first place in the Metropolitan Division. Once again, the team found a way to win, beating a team that they had to defeat and they are banking points that they will need in the playoff hunt.

Notes on the game

Artemi Panarin left the game early in the second period.  He played one shift, almost two minutes long, but didn’t appear to suffer any kind of injury.  After the game Gallant said it was a minor lower body injury and he would be day-to-day.  We shall see.

Keith Kinkaid didn’t look like a guy who hadn’t played since November 26.  He made some excellent saves although one of the two goals might have been stoppable.

He stopped 29 of 31 shots and kept the Rangers in the game early, especially in the first period.

This was a big game for Kaapo Kakko, scoring twice after not scoring a goal in 10 straight.  This was the fifth two-goal game of his career and his first power play and game winning goal of the season.  It’s one reason the critics who claim that he cannot score should remember that if he was on the first PP unit, he would definitely have better offensive stats.

Libor Hajek save a goal twice on the same play when a puck eluded Keith Kinkaid and trickled towards the goal line.  Hajek sticked it away from the goal but the puck hit Kinkaid and bounced back in.  This time the puck was two thirds over the line when Hajek cleared it.

Gallant was asked about Hajak’s play and whether he played instead of Nils Lundkvist.  His answer was concise.  “He earned his way in there and he’s played since.”

Gerard Gallant really doesn’t like to get asked questions about how he utilizes players. When asked about why Filip Chytil was scratched, he snapped “Can we talk about the game please?  Seriously…talk about the game and maybe at the end we’ll talk about Fil.” He did address it later, saying it could be a one game thing. He did say “sometime you need lessons, I’m not saying it was a lesson.”  So, it was a lesson.

The Rangers were outhit for the second time in three games, though it was close (29-27).

They had a spectacular night in the faceoff circle, winning two third of the draws (37 of 56).  Zibanejad won 11 of 17 and Greg McKegg won five of seven.

Adam Fox added another assist and now has 31 points and a three point lead over Victor Hedman among defensemen scoring.  His 26 assists are the second most in the entire NHL, behind only Connor McDavid.

In his first 28 games, Chris Kreider had only four assists.  He nearly doubled that with three helpers in this game, tying his career high. The last time he had three assists in a game was in March 2018 against the Penguins and he has now done it three times.

Mika Zibanejad scored only four goals in his first 25 games and now has two in his last four.  He became the second Ranger in the last 20 years to score his first six goals of the season all on the road.  Derek Stepan scored his first seven goals on the road in 2010-11.

After failing to score in two straight games, the power play tallied two goals, though they gave up their first shorthanded goal of the season.  It was the fourth time they have scored two PP goals in one game, their season high.  They are ninth in the NHL with a 22.6% rate.

The penalty kill was a perfect 2-2 and have surrendered only two power play goals in their last 45 times shorthanded.  They are now sixth best in the NHL with and 83% success rate.

This was the 11th road win for the Rangers, second only to the Carolina Hurricanes with 12. In the last four seasons they have won 13,19 14 and 13 road games.

 My 3 Rangers stars

1. Kaapo Kakko was thrust into the spotlight on the power play and he came through with the game winner.  He also jump started the Zibanejad line by scoring the Rangers’ first and tying goal in the second period.  It was a big game for him and the hope has to be that it will get him going.
2. Chris Kreider had his third three-assist game of his career and put the kibosh on any conversations about a scoring slump.  Sure, he hasn’t scored a goal in four straight games, but if he gets assists like the ones he did in this game, all is forgiven.
3. Mika Zibanejad had a goal and an assist, giving him six goals and 23 points.  Now would be the perfect time for Zibanejad to go on one of his hot streaks and he is off to a decent start.  He led all forwards in ice time and shots on goal.

The official 3 stars

1. Kaapo Kakko – Rangers
2. Mika Zibanejad – Rangers
3. Clayton Keller – Coyotes

What’s next

This very busy stretch of games will come to an end on Friday when the Rangers host the Vegas Golden Knights.  It’s Gerard Gallant’s first game against his former team and you can be sure he really wants to win.  Let’s see how hard the team will play to win one for the coach.

After Vegas it’s very quiet with only four games in 15 days including a trip to Florida to take on the Panthers and Lightning.