The Rangers Wild fall from grace signals defensive depth problem
A Wild turnaround and Kreider’s milestone:
In 29 seconds, Minnesota scored twice in the second period, cutting the Rangers’ lead to 3-2. The Wild’s comeback started with a close call for the Rangers. Jonathan Quick made an initial save on a shot from former Ranger Mats Zuccarello. However, Quick lost his stick, and the puck took a fortunate bounce, hitting the post. Ryan Hartman was in the right place at the right time, cleaning up the rebound and cutting Minnesota’s deficit to 3-1.
Just moments later, the Wild struck again. Joel Eriksson Ek found himself in the perfect position to tap in a goal, further narrowing the gap to 3-2. Quick lost his stick again, and Vincent Trocheck didn’t step up on Brock Faber, allowing him to find his linemate for the tally.
A bright timeout by Blueshirts head coach Peter Laviolette attempted to slow things down. He felt the tide turning, and so did the fans. As it always does, the Wild goal song implores fans to “shout,” and they obliged. It’s the state of hockey. They’re so passionate about the game that even high school tournaments sell out their favorite team’s arena. They’re constantly competitive in college hockey. They demanded top effort from the professionals and weren’t pleased in the first period, booing their team off the ice. Their heroes had responded.
The two rapid goals set the stage for what was to come. The Blueshirts were on their heels for the rest of the contest. Only Quick was why New York stayed alive in front for the rest of the middle frame, as they were outshot 13-5.
The Wild continued their comeback. Zuccarello scored again, and Marco Rossi gave the Wild their first lead of the night with 14:40 remaining.
Yet just when things seemed bleak for the Rangers, Chris Kreider stepped up with a clutch goal. He deflected a shot from Panarin to tie the score at 4-4. The goal meant more, though. It marked a personal milestone for Kreider, moving him into fourth place on the Blueshirts’ all-time goal-scoring list with tally #273, passing Andy Bathgate. He’s seven shy from tying Adam Graves for third place, which should happen soon. The 32-year-old led the team with eight goals through 11 games. The tally also marked the fourth even-strength tally for the Blueshirts.
Yet just when things seemed bleak for the Rangers, Chris Kreider stepped up with a clutch goal. He deflected a shot from Panarin to tie the score at 4-4. The goal was more than just to connect. It marked a personal milestone for Kreider, moving him into fourth place on the Blueshirts’ all-time goal-scoring list with tally #273, passing Andy Bathgate. He’s seven shy from tying Adam Graves for third place, which should happen soon. The 32-year-old led the team with eight goals through 11 games. The tally also marked the fourth even-strength tally for the Blueshirts.
Quick’s heroics steal Rangers a point:
Towards the end of regulation, four Rangers skaters – Braden Schneider, Zac Jones, Vincent Trocheck, and Blake Wheeler – found themselves on the ice for what felt like an eternity. It was a shift that lasted over three minutes. The Rangers were stuck in their zone, and it was like a never-ending penalty kill. The bottom pair of Zac Jones and Braden Schneider struggled all evening long. They were outshot 10-3 when on the ice. It was there where New York missed Fox, their Norris Trophy winner, the most. It’s something they’ll need to learn how to deal with fast.
Yet Quick came to the rescue. He denied Jonas Brodin and Kirill Kaprizov during that chaotic stretch, helped send the game to overtime, and secured a point for New York in the standings. The extra frame wasn’t much better for the Blueshirts, but some crucial stops by Quick sent the game to a shootout. New York was doubled up in the shot count 40-20. The Rangers’ netminder finished the game with 36 saves and a +1.05 goal saved, which was above expected.
Panarin and Zuccarello scored to open the shootout. After Kaprizov and Mika Zibanejad were stopped, Boldy’s shot hit the post, went off Quick’s back, and rolled into the net, giving Minnesota the 2-1 lead. Fleury then made a stretch save on Trocheck to end it, sending the Wild fans into a frenzy. It marked the 65th shootout win for Fleury, the most in NHL history. It was also the 546th win for the 38-year-old, putting him five away from tying Patrick Roy for second on the all-time wins list.
As tough as a loss as this is, it’s one game. The Rangers were just on a six-game heater. They’re still on a seven-game point streak. The focus is now on Tuesday against the Detroit Red Wings at Madison Square Garden. On the bright side, they won’t play in the Central and Western time zones until November 20th in Dallas.