THE SWEET FEELING OF A GOOD TWO POINTS HAS RETURNED.

The main reason for the Rangers’ overall 9-6-4 shaky start to the season has been their inability to put together a full 60-minute performance since their opening night win against the Tampa Bay Lightning. But it was there on Saturday night, and the Blueshirts needed every last ounce of energy they had to defeat the feisty San Jose Sharks 2-1 at the  SAP center.

The Rangers controlled play and were nearly flawless on defense throughout the contest. New York outshot San Jose in every period 43-23 for the game and saved their best for last with the 16-4 barrage in the third. They played with conviction, purpose, and urgency on both ends of the puck. When the defense broke down, Igor Shesterkin was there to save them, looking like his Vezina self again.

If not for the hot play of James Reimer and the three helpings from his posts, this game would’ve been a blowout. On special teams, it was a 180 from Thursday’s 3-2 overtime loss in Seattle, as the team stayed out of the box, only taking one penalty tonight, which helped keep the game moving. Ironically, the critical tally came 5V5 on Saturday night, when Julien Gauthier deflected home a slapper from captain Jacob Trouba and broke the scoreless deadlock with 6:03 remaining in the third period.

Nearly five minutes after Trouba’s 200th career assist, Adam Fox increased his point streak to eight straight games with an empty-netter. It was shaping up to be a picture-perfect win until a horrendous final 20 seconds. That’s when the Blueshirts took their foot off the gas, and San Jose ruined Igor’s shutout bid when captain Logan Couture scored with 16 seconds left. The Sharks nearly tied it off the ensuing draw, but Shesterkin came to the rescue with stop #22 on the night to preserve the victory.

The Rangers are now 1-1 on this West Coast trip which continues on Tuesday night against the Los Angeles Kings.

EVERYONE LOVES GODDY:
Following a commercial break in the first period, the San Jose Sharks honored Barclay Goodrow as – as the overtime Game 7 hero of the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs against the Vegas Golden Knights hadn’t returned to San Jose since being traded to the Tampa Bay Lightning where he won two straight Stanley Cups.

ROBBED OF MORE:
This one didn’t do anything to diminish the reality that is the Rangers not getting the results they deserve. The Rangers had an expected goals total of 4.81 on Saturday and are 29th in the league regarding goals scored above expected at -10.1, according to Jfresh hockey. Of the 43 shots, 17 were mid-chances, seven were high(Rangers scored both in this category), and 19 were what you would call “Softies” or saves a goaltender should make, a variety the Rangers rank sixth in.
Despite the 0/3 night on the power play, dropping their conversion rate to 23.5%, ninth in the league, the Blueshirts moved into first in the show in expected goals on the man advantage this season, meaning fans need be patient as the puck luck makes its way towards the New York side.

NHL NEWS & NOTES:

It was a rare 15-game slate in the NHL, as everyone absent from Vancouver and Arizona was in action on Saturday night. However, since this is a Rangers-centric site, I’ll keep things strictly within the Metropolitan division.

DEVILS MAKE IT A DOZEN:

Erik Haula had his first as a Devil, and Nathan Bastian, Jesper Boqvist, Yegor Sharengovich(SGH), and Micheal Mcleod(EN) also added goals, while Akira Schmid made 25 saves to lead New Jersey to a 5-1 win in Ottawa.

The win puts the Devils at 15-3 and is their 12th straight, one shy of the franchise record set in 2001, which can be tied when the team returns home on Monday and battles the Edmonton Oilers. The victory completed a sweep of Eastern(Montreal, Toronto, Ottawa) and Western(Calgary, Edmonton, Vancouver) Canada, making Jersey the first team in NHL history to accomplish that in the same season. They’ll look for the Central Canada sweep in April when they travel to Winnipeg to battle the Jets in a road trip that includes the Chicago Blackhawks.

CANES FALL IN WILD AFFAIR:

Playing in his 1,00th NHL game, Alex Goligoski netted the overtime winner to lead the Minnesota Wild past the Carolina Hurricanes in 2-1 overtime. The loss dropped the Canes to 10-5-3, seven points behind the Devils for first place atop the division.

ISLES STARSTRUCK:

The 11-7 Islanders let a 2-1 lead slip away, allowing four unanswered goals in their 5-2 loss to the Stars in Dallas, dropping their second straight contest. Their four-game road trip, which included a victory in Ottawa and a defeat in Nashville, will conclude on Monday in Toronto.

PENS BLANK JETS:

Tristan Jarry backstopped Pittsburg with 32 saves for his 12 career shutout, and the Penguins moved back over NHL .500 at 8-7-3 after their 3-0 win in Winnipeg.

FLYERS FALL IN HEARTBREAKER:

Cole Caufield scored with 1.9 seconds left before Nick Suzuki won it for the Canadians in the shootout, as Philadelphia spiraled to their sixth straight defeat with their latest 5-4 loss.

CAPS ROUTED BY AVS:

Despite facing an Avalanche squad decimated by injuries, the Capitals were manhandled 4-0 on home ice, as goaltender Darcey Kuemper was lit up by the team he helped win a Stanley cup last season. Meanwhile, Alexander Georgiev recorded his first shutout in Colorado colors with 32 saves and is now 7-2-1 with a 2.70 GAA and .924 save %. The loss is Washington’s fourth straight, as they dropped to 7-10-3.

JACKETS REMAIN IN A RUT:

Columbus lost for the seventh time in 10 games, as Filip Hronek scored twice and Andrew Copp had two assists in Detroit’s 6-1 road victory.