New York Rangers bounce back with a dominating performance led by Ryan Lindgren
Ryan Lindgren scored twice, and Jarred Tinordi scored the tiebreaking goal as the New York Rangers rode a big night from their defensemen, dominated the third period and recorded a 4-1 victory over the host Anaheim Ducks on Saturday night.
“We play our best when we play simple,” Lindgren said. “That was something coach stressed to us tonight. We played a really smart third period.”
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Rangers defense dominates in Anaheim
New York won for the fourth time in five games and bounced back nicely from opening its season-high, five-game road trip with an ugly 5-1 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday.
Tinordi and Lindgren scored during a stretch when the Rangers took the first 18 shots of the third and outshot the Ducks by a 19-3 margin in the final 20 minutes. Lindgren then sealed the win by getting an empty-net goal with 31 seconds remaining, achieving his first career multi-goal game.
“It’s extra special when guys that don’t score often and do such a good job defensively, and may not get credit as much, get to score,” Mika Zibanejad said. He opened the scoring with his 7th goal in the past 8 games.
Tinordi snapped a 1-1 tie 1:46 into the third with his second career goal and first since Jan. 29, 2020 for the Washington Capitals. Back in the lineup for the first appearance since Nov. 21, Tinordi scored when his shot from the right point caromed off Anaheim rookie Jacob Perreault’s stick over goalie Anthony Stolarz’s right arm.
Lindgren scored his third goal of the season right after a power play expired and gave the Rangers a 3-1 lead with 9:58 remaining when his long drive from just inside the blue line sailed through a screen by teammate Tim Gettinger and over Stolarz. It was the rugged defenseman’s first career two-goal game in the NHL.
“The second one, I didn’t feel too good about after taking that penalty late,” Lindgren admitted after a strong 23:34 of ice time. “But it felt good (to score twice).”
Alexandar Georgiev made his third straight start and stopped 13 shots as the Rangers allowed their fewest shots of the season. The Blueshirts totally dominated the Ducks and finished the game with a 40-14 shot advantage.
Mika Zibanejad scored the tying goal in the second for New York, which was without Artemi Panarin for the fourth straight contest. Panarin and goalie Igor Shesterkin were joined in the COVID-19 protocol by Ryan Reaves and Julien Gauthier.
Rangers complete 60 minute effort
The New York Rangers dominated all three zones throughout the contest. Isac Lundestrom scored with 8:55 left in the second when his wrist shot from the low slot glided over Georgiev’s right pad shortly after a giveaway by New York defenseman K’Andre Miller. It was possibly the only mistake made by the team on the night.
With six minutes left in the second, Zibanejad tied it by banking the puck off Anaheim’s Max Comtois from a sharp angle over Stolarz. He gained possession at the right doorstep following a pass from Kaapo Kakko, who got his own rebound and easily moved behind the net.
“We played a pretty good game all through 60 minutes,” Zibanejad said. “That was a big difference.”
Overall, the Rangers once again proved they have a short memory after a big loss. Their record, as was noted during the MSG broadcast after losing by four or more goals is 4-01. For the season, they are 8-3-2 following any regulation/overtime losses.
“We played a real good solid hockey game all around,” Gallant said smiling. “We got a lot more rubber to the net than we have in the past and I’m pretty happy with that.”
The Blueshirts became just the fourth team in the NHL to hit 50 points this season. They are now tied with the Carolina Hurricanes for first place in the Metro Division.
NHL Rumors
Klingberg asks for a trade. New York Rangers almost traded Georgiev, and more. Read it here.
–Field Level Media contributed to this report
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