Rangers outlast Red Wings in overtime 5-4

About the game

The Rangers got off to a good start with several strong shifts.  Right after the third line kept the Red Wings pinned in their zone, the fourth line took the puck right back in and it was Ryan Reaves who corralled a bouncing puck and put it past Alex Nedeljkovic.  The goal came just 3:23 into the game.

The lead lasted all of six and a half minutes when Michael Rasmussen scored at 9:59 on an unscreened shot from beyond the left faceoff circle that slipped through Georgiev’s legs. It was not a good goal.

At 15:26 Andrew Copp was called for tripping and the Red Wings power play took over. The penalty killers kept the Wings at bay and Georgiev made at least one great stop, but with three seconds left Jakub Vrana had an unscreened shot from the right faceoff circle and it went through Georgiev’s legs.

That was a shot that had no business going in.

The Rangers answered right back with Filip Chytil scoring his seventh goal of the season.

Chytil had been tossed from the faceoff circle so Lafreniere took the draw and won it, getting the puck to Braden Schneider who fed Patrik Nemeth for the one-time that Chytil tipped past Nedeljkovic.  The goal came just 11 seconds after the Red Wings goal.

It was a nice reward for Nemeth who had made some excellent plays on defense.

The period ended with the score tied 1-1.  The Rangers held a slight edge in shots and had more high danger chances. The only problem was the second period would start with a Detroit power play after a Greg McKegg tripping penalty.

Just 29 seconds into the second period, Tyler Bertuzzi scored on a slap shot from the blueline.  There was a partial screen, but this was another shot that you would expect your goalie to get a piece of.

At 12:15, Artemi Panarin knotted the score on a nice pass from Frank Vatrano.  Panarin jumped off the bench to join the play and for once, he shot the puck.

The second period ended tied 3-3 though it could have been more one-sided.  The Rangers had twice the shot attempts of the Red Wings (22-11)

Adam Erme put the Red Wings ahead yet again on a broken play in the Rangers’ zone. Pius Suter won the faceoff when it deflected off the linesman right to Marc Staal who took the shot. It was off target, but hit Erme’s skate and got control and put a backhander through traffic past Georgiev.  Of all the goals, this was one that the Rangers’ goalie had the least chance of stopping.

So the Red Wings had to nurse a one goal lead for 14:04 and the Rangers pushed hard.  Finally, the Blueshirts were awarded their second power play on the night when Dryden Hunt was high sticked and you know what happened.  Chris Kreider scored another power play goal.

Taking the pass from Artemi Panarin, he tried to pass to Andrew Copp in front of the net, but the puck hit defenseman Moritz Seider’s skate and richocheted into the net.

The Red Wings had the first possession in overtime, but the Rangers second unit of Panarin, Copp and K’Andre Miller got the puck back and Panarin and Copp broke into the attacking zone and Panarin fed Copp for the game winning goal.

It was a total breakdown on defense by Detroit as they allowed the odd man rush unimpeded. The goals came 1:34 into the overtime period.

After losing three of their first four in overtime the Rangers have won seven of their last nine games that have gone to overtime or a shootout.

Here is a video recap of the game:

Notes on the game

• The Rangers have a record of 44-19-5 and 93 points.  They have a three point lead over the Penguins for second place and the Capitals are now nine points behind the Blueshirts.
• The Rangers’ 93 points are fourth most in the NHL and their points percentage is fourth best as well.  Their road record of 22-13-2 is tops in the NHL and the 22 wins are tied with Tampa for most in the league.
• New York has won 17 of 20 games against the Atlantic Division, getting 35 of a possible 40 points.
• This is the third four game winning streak for the team.  Their longest winning streak this season has been seven games.
• The Rangers finished March with 11 wins in 15 games and 22 points.  That’s the most wins and points in any month this season and tied for the most wins in March in franchise history.  They are the 109th team in NHL history to finish March with 22 points. Only the 2006-07 Rangers had more March points in franchise history, finishing with 23.
• Chris Kreider did it again, scoring his 24th power play goal and his 46th goal of the season to tie the score late in the third.  The 24 power play goals ties him with Jaromir Jagr for most in one season by a Ranger, set in 2005-06.   He leads the NHL in PP goals and is third in the NHL in goals.  His nine game winning goals is second in the NHL, one behind Leon Draisaitl.
• Artemi Panarin had a three point night with a goal and two assists.  He is 11th in the NHL with 80 points and is third in the NHL with 62 assists. He is creeping up the franchise list with 16 multi assist games this season, behind only Brian Leetch, Jean Ratelle and Mark Messier who had 18 multi assist games in a season.
• Ryan Reaves scored his third goal of the season and they have all been on games televised by TNT, something the on-air folks reminded us of about a dozen times.
• The newcomers contributed again with Frank Vatrano getting his first assist as a Ranger on Panarin’s goal and Andrew Copp scoring the game winning goal.
• Late in the game Gallant changed up the lines, putting Panarin on the same line as Zibanejad as Vatrano for a couple shifts.  After the game Gallant said that he wanted to “make them (the Red Wings) think” because they were matching lines.
• One area of concern is the Rangers penalty kill. They’ve allowed power play goals in five straight games, allowing six goals their last 14 times shorthanded. After stopping 20 of 22 power plays (91%), they have stopped 26 of 38 (68%).   Of course, your goaltender is your best penalty killer and Georgiev has stopped one of the last five power plays while Shesterkin has stopped seven of the last nine.  Overall, the penalty kill has slipped to 13th overall at 80.4%.
• Alexandar Georgiev finished with 22 saves on 26 shots. His goals against average is 3.11 and his save percentage is .892,  56th overall in the NHL among goalies who have played 15 games or more.
• For the sixth straight game, the Rangers had two or fewer power plays. Their power play remains second best in the NHL at 27.1%.
• The Rangers have only four of their remaining 14 games on the road.
• The Rangers won 51% of their draws, led by Andrew Copp who won nine of 15.

My 3 Rangers stars

1. Artemi Panarin led the way offensively with  a goal and two assists.  He scored the key tying goal late in the second period, then did his thing setting up Chris Kreider on the power play and then Andrew Copp in overtime. His passing is simply awesome and his shot is devastating, when he decides to shoot.
2. Andrew Copp was outstanding, scoring the winning goal, winning 60% of his faceoffs and second on the team with five shots. He’s done a fine job filling at center for Ryan Strome.
3. Chris Kreider is the Rangers’ Mr Clutch and he continues his amazing run to 50 goals. One more power play goal and he owns the franchise record and he is nine goals behind Jaromir Jagr’s club record of 54 goals with 14 games to play.  He may not set the record, but he has a good chance to be the team’s fourth 50 goal scorer.

The official 3 stars

1. Andrew Copp – Rangers
2. Moritz Seider – Red Wings
3. Artemi Panarin – Rangers

What’s next

The Islanders are next up on the schedule on Friday at Madison Square Garden.  Sunday night it’s the Flyers and then a rematch with the Devils on Tuesday. The Rangers play 14 games in the first 29 days of the month of April.   The playoff are not far away.