Blue Line Station
Fansided

A wild finish to a great 3-2 win over the Penguins

By Steve Paulus

Mar 29, 2022; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; New York Rangers defenseman Adam Fox (23) moves the puck up ice against the Pittsburgh Penguins during the first period at PPG Paints Arena. The Rangers won 3-2. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 29, 2022; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; New York Rangers defenseman Adam Fox (23) moves the puck up ice against the Pittsburgh Penguins during the first period at PPG Paints Arena. The Rangers won 3-2. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports /
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Mar 29, 2022; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; New York Rangers left wing Chris Kreider (20) skates up ice with the puck against the Pittsburgh Penguins during the third period at PPG Paints Arena. The Rangers won 3-2. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 29, 2022; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; New York Rangers left wing Chris Kreider (20) skates up ice with the puck against the Pittsburgh Penguins during the third period at PPG Paints Arena. The Rangers won 3-2. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports /

Notes on the game

  • With the win. the Rangers moved back into second place in the Metropolitan Division with 91 points and a 43-19-5 record. They are one point ahead of the Penguins with a game in hand. They have opened a seven point lead on Washington, again with a game in hand.
  • The Rangers have won three in a row and seven of their last nine. They have a 15-6-1 record in their last 22 games.
  • They now have the fourth most points in the NHL trailing only Colorado, Carolina and Florida.
  • The Rangers lead the league with 23 come-from-behind wins, the most in franchise history.
  • This was the Rangers’ 21st road win, second most in the NHL. It’s their most since 2016-17 when they won 27 road games.
  • They improved their record against the Metropolitan Division to 11-6-0 for 22 of a possible 34 points. They have a record of 27-8-1 against Eastern Conference teams, second only to Florida’s 28-7-3.
  • The Rangers have 20 points in March, the most points they have totaled in any one month this season.
  • This team can play defense.  They have allowed 2.57 goals per game, the third lowest in the NHL.  That despite allowing an average of 31.7 shots per game, 16th most in the league.
  • Chris Kreider scored his 45th goal of the season, third most in the NHL.  It was his league leading 23rd power play goal, tying Vic Hadfield for second most in one season by a Ranger.  He is one behind Jaromir Jagr’s franchise record of 24.
  • Kreider has been on a roll with seven goals and four assists in his last eight games.
  • Frank Vatrano has found a home on the top line, scoring his fifth goal in seven games as a Ranger. He now has 15 goals on the season.
  • Andrew Copp centered the second line and got an assist on Braden Schneider’s goal.  He now has one goal and five assists in four games.
  • For Braden Schneider, he hadn’t scored a goal since his first NHL game on January 13.  It was 27 games between goals for the rookie.
  • Igor Shesterkin stopped 22 of 24 shots and was outstanding late in the game.  He has allowed only four goals in three games against the Penguins with only one of those at five-on-five.  He moved into second place in the NHL with a 2.11 goals against average and he remains on top with a .936 save percentage. He’s third in the NHL with 32 wins.
  • Artemi Panarin had two assists, his 15th multi-assist game of the season, tying his most as a Ranger. The record is 18, held by Mark Messier and Brian Leetch.
  • The Rangers have one more game against Pittsburgh, at the Garden on April 7.
  • Gallant was able to roll four lines again with Mika Zibanejad leading all forwards with 18:16 minutes TOI.  Ryan Reaves returned to the lineup and had three hits, playing 7:58, the fewest minutes of any Ranger.
  • The Penguins dominated in the faceoff circle early, 19-14 after two periods, but the Blueshirts came back in the third, winning eight of 15.  Mika Zibnejad led the way, winning 12 of 20.
  • The Rangers had only one power play for the fourth straight game. With a lethal power play, they need to work on drawing more penalties.  They remain second overall with a 26.8% success rate.  The Rangers have had 179 power plays this season, 26th most in the NHL.  Compare that to the top three teams, Colorado (229), Florida (213) and Pittsburgh (212).
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