3 Rangers takeaways after snapping 5-game slide by defeating Canadiens 4-3
The New York Rangers’ 1,700th home victory since entering the NHL in 1926 wasn’t pretty. But Kaapo Kakko’s power-play goal with 24 seconds negated the effects of a blown two-goal lead in the third period and gave the Rangers a 4-3 win against the Montreal Canadiens at Madison Square Garden on Saturday, ending their five-game losing streak.
The Rangers led 3-1 after two periods and appeared on their way to a comfortable streak-snapping victory against their longtime rivals, who sit 30th in the NHL this season. But Montreal captain Nick Suzuki set up Cole Caufield’s goal early in the third period, then tied the game by beating Jonathan Quick with 5:53 remaining in regulation. However, Montreal’s Kirby Dach took a double minor for high-sticking Mika Zibanejad with 2:40 remaining, and Kakko scored a power-play goal in the final seconds of regulation for the win.
The five-game losing streak was New York’s longest skid since they dropped five straight from Apr. 29-May 5, 2021.
Jonathan Quick continues to excel as Igor Shesterkin’s backup. He made 25 saves to win for the fifth time in his six starts and the 398th time in his career, moving him within two victories of becoming the first U.S.-born goalie to reach the 400-win mark. Quick is 23-7-2 since joining the Rangers at the start of last season.
The Rangers got a lift from the return of forward Chris Kreider, who missed three games with back spasms, and center Filip Chytil, who hadn’t played since sustaining an upper-body injury on Nov. 14. Neither hit the score sheet, but Kreider’s role screening Montreal goalie Sam Montembeault was key in New York’s first two power-play goals, and Chytil’s keep at the blue line started the play that led to Kakko’s game-winner.
It wasn’t a pretty win, but the Rangers won’t throw it back.
“Not our best performance, but right now, we needed something,” said forward Artemi Panarin, who had a goal and an assist. “It doesn’t matter which (way) we win. We’re happy with two points right now, and we’ll try to step forward.”
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3 takeaways from Rangers 4-3 win against the Canadiens
Here are three takeaways from the game Saturday.
1. Ugly wins are still wins
If the Rangers had had their way, their five-game losing streak would likely have ended with a solid performance ending in a decisive victory. That certainly wasn’t the case Saturday – but a win is a win, and the Rangers were more than happy to go home with two points even after blowing a two-goal lead in the final period.
“It’s not the way we wanted the third period to go,” coach Peter Laviolette said afterward.
The Rangers were on their heels for much of the afternoon, especially in the third period. They were outscored 3-1 at 5-on-5, and they gave up 15 high-danger chances when the teams were skating at full strength while earning just six, according to Natural Stat Trick.
But cashing in three times on the power play, including Kakko’s game-winner, sent the Rangers and their fans home happy.
“Sometimes when you’re trying to get out of something, that first one that you get out of might not be the prettiest, and it wasn’t tonight,” Laviolette said. “But we’ve got to draw on the positives of what we were able to do — from the physicality, the start, the fact that we kicked it up but we came back and won it, specialty teams factoring into it. You just pull all those things out of it and just continue to work your way out.”
2. Rangers stand up for themselves
Former Rangers captain turned MSG Networks announcer Dave Maloney was among those who blasted the Blueshirts after their 3-1 loss to the Flyers in Philadelphia on Friday when none of Panarin’s teammates came to his aid after he jousted with Philly’s Travis Konecny.
Saturday was an entirely different story.
Captain Jacob Trouba engaged in a lengthy bout with Montreal forward Josh Anderson 1:50 into the game – refusing a couple of opportunities to end the bout before the officials finally intervened. It made an impression on his teammates.
“He’s our leader,” Kakko said. “It was something we needed. We’ve been pretty bad lately … And he’s our captain, He’s our leader. So that’s something that got the guys going. And I think that was a good start.”
Late in the second period, all five skaters and Quick got involved in a mammoth scrum that saw seven players – including Quick – receive roughing penalties. If nothing else, the Rangers made sure they weren’t going to get pushed around.
Trouba earned a lot of credit for stepping up when a message needed to be sent.
“It was a message from him that he was here to play,” Laviolette said. “Our guys were ready to play.”
3. Kreider’s return revives power play
The Rangers were 0-for-12 on the power play in their past eight games, the last three of which they played without Kreider, whose presence on PP1 makes life miserable for opposing goalies. Kreider didn’t get on the score sheet, but he was a major factor in the Rangers first two power-play goals. Kakko’s game-winner made it a 3-for-6 afternoon – just the second time this season that the Rangers have scored more than once with the man advantage.
Kreider drew the first penalty of the game when he was held by Montreal’s Emil Heineman, then screened Montembeault, who couldn’t see Panarin’s rip from the top of the left circle that went into the net 9:02 into the game for a 1-0 lead. He took away Montembeault’s eyes again in the second period, making it impossible for him to see Mika Zibanejad’s shot from the left of the slot, which found a small gap in the net-front traffic.
“When you find yourself in a rut for quite a few games, specialty teams can definitely change the direction of the game, and they did tonight,” Laviolette said. “Chris Kreider did an unbelievable job in front of the net.”
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