The New York Rangers have been on a roll lately, and more importantly, sticking with the rest of the pack of the Metropolitan Division. Imagine a Nascar race, in which the green flag drops to start the race and all 43 cars are bunched together for a couple dozen laps. That is exactly how the Metro is right now, with not one team pulling ahead or falling behind.
After taking the Vegas Golden Knights to Overtime, and nearly to the shootout, the Blueshirts lost 3-2. There is a lot to take away from this game.
Slow start, but fantastic response
The Rangers are on the second-part of a back-to-back after taking Colorado to the extra frame on Saturday afternoon. A slow start was to be expected, but it was like the Rangers were stuck in the mud. The first period featured a shooting gallery from Vegas, and very little return from the Rangers, as they only mustered a measly three shots on goal in the first 20 minutes.
But then, the Rangers went into the locker room, and head coach Mike Sullivan must have said the perfect thing becuase the second period was one of the best periods of the season. The Rangers came out flying, potting their two goals of the afternoon on 16 shots on net.
Unfortunately, the third period featured much of the same as the first, with another three-shot period, giving the Golden Knights a chance at overtime. Than, that was all she wrote. There was some controversy as Vegas was gifted an unofficial power play late in the game when the refs took off a player from each side to make it 4-on-4. Vegas then pulled the goalie to get a 5-on-4, and they capitalized with the extra space, much to the chagrin of Mike Sullivan.
Mike Sullivan talks about his frustration with the matching roughing calls on Will Borgen and Brett Howden late in the game:
— Rangers Videos (@SNYRangers) December 8, 2025
"There was nothing going on. The implication of that at that time of game, the difference between a 5-on-4 vs. a 6-on-5 is significant." pic.twitter.com/alqIQRcDgN
The Rangers were seemingly due a makeup call, they didn't have any power play chances during the game, but instead they caught the short end of the stick figuratively and literally in overtime.
Mika Zibanejad was not pleased with the non-call in overtime 😳
— BarDown (@BarDown) December 8, 2025
Do you think it should’ve been a penalty?
(🎥: MSG Network / h/t: @MollieeWalkerr) pic.twitter.com/WZwDOMlIgI
It is something that fired the group up, and something they can use as fuel going forward.
In Quick we trust
The Rangers, and this fanbase, should be very thankful that Jonathan Quick is their backup goaltender. He has been fantastic this season, and as he rapidly approaches 40 years old, it looks as though he is still at the top of his game.
Quick stopped 26 of the Golden Knights 29 shots, but ultimately could not get the second point. He is now 3-3-1 in his seven starts, with a goals against average of 1.86 and a staggering save percentage of .937. The Rangers might have the second-best goaltending tandem in the NHL, behind Colorado.
Rangers are onto something here
It has become clear that the Rangers are taking care of business since losing star defenseman Adam Fox. Some key players have stepped up, and goaltending has saved this team mightly. If they keep this up, they might be onto something.
This month of December is going to be a tough one, with a tilt at home against a very talented Anaheim Ducks team on December 15 and two games against Washington before the end of the year. A successful month could set this team up for the second half of the season, and potentially catapult them into a playoff spot in the Metropolitan Division.