Team comeback does it again with 4-3 OT win

This New York Rangers team is hard to describe.  They are an analytics fan’s worst nightmare.  They never seem to play an easy game and it feels like that are always forced to overcome a deficit.  The key thing is that they do overcome deficits and they did it once again, coming back after trailing 3-2 in the third period to win in overtime against the Anaheim Ducks.

Gerard Gallant was not exactly enthused about the first two periods. “Real good third, obviously…fortunately for us we got a chance to tie it up. Win in overtime. Good game overall, first and second were okay, both teams exchanged some chances, but not a lot happening.”

They did it with Alexandar Georgiev in goal as he broke a personal five game losing streak. He played well in a game that should help restore his confidence.

Gallant agreed, “I thought he looked good, he looked solid, he looked comfortable tonight and that’s a good sign for him.”

Coming off a four game road trip, the possibility that they could have a bad game was always there and they didn’t get off to a great start.  In fact, they really didn’t wake up until the third period when they had to rely on the power play to tie the score with just 6:20 left in the game.

As usual, it was the Rangers’ stars who came through. Chris Kreider spoke about the whole team when it came to resilience.  “I think it speaks to how focused this group is on accomplishing our first goal which is to make the playoffs.”

The first period wasn’t exactly action packed with only 13 shots between the two teams.  The Rangers took an early lead when Filip Chytil led a breaking Jonny Brodzinski who fired a wrist shot past John Gibson just 4:29 into the game.

It was Brodzinski’s first goal of the season in a game inwhich his line with Chytil and Barclay Goodrow was one of the team’s best.

Gallant was very happy with Chytil’s play. “We talked about it after the Dallas game.  I thought that was his best game…he plyed a good strong physical game. He did everything strong with the puck. Tonight he looked really good. He looked confident, that’s going to be key for us.”

With just under six minutes left in the period, Max Comtois scored on a lucky bounce when a Troy Terry richocheted off Comtois and Georgiev into the net.

After killing a penalty to start he second period, at 3:06, Mika Zibanejad scored with an extra man on the ice due to an Anaheim penalty. Dryden Hunt drew a penalty and they kept the puck in the Ducks zone for 30 seconds and finally fed Zibanejad who lasered a shot from an impossible angle. It was a stunning shot.

That lead lasted less than two minutes as Jacob Trouba tripped Isac Lundestrom and the Ducks converted on the power play when Cam Fowler scored on a shot from blueline with Georgiev screened.

The third period was all Rangers until Derek Grant was sprung for a  breakaway by a pass from Danny O’Regan past an out of position Braden Schneider.  The play came after a long shift in the attacking zone and after a Patrik Nemeth point shot was blocked.

On the goal, it appeared that Georgiev was undecided whether to try the poke check and the shot beat him over the shoulder.

The goal came with 9:25 left in the game and the Rangers pressed furiously for the tying goal, with the next eight shot attempts.  Some of them came with the man advantage when Max Comtois went off for hooking Adam Fox.  The Rangers power play went to work and it was all Blueshirts in the offensive zone and they cashed in when Kreider missed a tip-in, but gather the puck when it rebounded off the boards and he put into the net.

Tie game.

It took 55 seconds for the Rangers to score in overtime.  Zibanejad and Kreider led off with a long possession, then the Ducks had a good scoring chance with Troy Terry missing the net.  The Rangers took advantage with Zibanejad at the end of his shift feeding a breaking Panarin.  Adam Fox had also been out for a long shift, but he trailed Panarin into the zone, took the shot and beat John Gibson for the game winner.

Here is a video recap of the game.

There were a lot of good takeaways from this game.  Another comeback win.  The power play is unstoppable.  Georgiev played well and won a game.  A strong game by the third line.  They won in the first game back from a road trip.

On the negative side, they had to come back from trailing in the third period.  They also had more trouble than they should have with a team they should have dominated.

The positives outweight the negative and that bodes well for the team’s postseason hopes and makes Chris Drury’s job harder as the trade deadline nears.

Notes on the game

• With the win, combined with the Penguins’ loss to Nashville, the Rangers moved back into second place in the Metropolitan Division, tied in points, but ahead on points percentage.
• This was the Rangers 20th win at home, giving them a record of 20-5-3.   The last time they won 20 games at home was 2017-18 when they won 21 times.  The most home games they have won in the salary cap era was 27, a number they could exceed this season.
• The Rangers have gone to overtime 11 times and have won six times, four in a shootout.  Their record in OT is 2-3.
• This was the last game for the Rangers against a team in the Pacific Division and they finished with a record of 8-5-3.  They are above .500 against all four divisions.
• With 81 points, the Rangers will definitely finish with the most points in a season since 2016-17 when they finished with 102 points.
• The Rangers were 1-2 on the power play and remain in second place in the NHL with a 26.8% success rate.
• For the second time this season, Gerard Gallant called a timeout during a power play to get the first unit some rest and for the second time it paid off as they scored 37 seconds later.  He did it with 50 seconds left in the man advantage.
• Although it doesn’t count as a power play goal, they did score with the man advantage when they pulled Georgiev on a delayed penalty. It was a masterful display of puck possession as they kept the puck in the Ducks’ zone for a full 30 seconds before Zibanejad scored.  Amazingly they made 17 passes in the zone after the penalty was called.
• It was a another big game for the Rangers’ big guns with Zibanejad, Kreider, Panarin and Fox accounting for nine of the 12 points.
• Chris Kreider broke a three game scoring schneid with his 39th goal of the season.  He is on a pace to finish with 53 goals. He is tied for second place with Leon Draisaitl, six goals behind Auston Matthews.  His 20 power play goals lead the league,three more than Draisaitl.  It was also his 400th NHL point. He is the 727th player to reach that mark in NHL history.
• Artemi Panarin had three assists, giving him eight points in two games. He has moved into ninth place in the scoring race with 71 points. He is second in the league with 55 assists, 10 behind Jonathan Huberdeau.
• Adam Fox played his strongest game since the All-Star break, scoring in his second straight game and adding two assists. He has 61 points, third most for a defenseman in the NHL and the most assists with 52.  The goal was his ninth, a new career high.
• Jonny Brodzinski scored the all important first goal, his first of the season.  He scored one goal in five games last season and it was his eighth goal in 73 NHL games. He scored six goals over three seasons with the Los Angeles Kings.
• Alexandar Georgiev was the surprise starter, appearing in his third game in the last four.  He won his first game after five straight losses and the three goals he allowed were the fewest since January 10 when he allowed two goals against the Kings.
• For the Rangers, this was their 20th come from behind win, most in the NHL.  It was the eighth time the team has come back after trailing in the third period.  They went into the third period tied and have a record of 13-2-1 in games they have done so.
• The Rangers have a five point lead over Washington and a game in hand. If the Rangers play .500 hockey the rest of the way, they will finish with 103 points.  In order for Washington to top that they would have to win 14 of their last 21 games, a tall order.  The race for the Rangers is for second place.