Artemi Panarin, Adam Fox help Rangers move back into playoff spot with 6-1 win against Sharks
Playing with a sense of purpose and urgency right from the first drop of the puck, the New York Rangers skated to a dominating 6-1 win against the last-overall San Jose Sharks on Saturday night at SAP Center. With the win, the Rangers moved into the second wild card in the Eastern Conference, two points ahead of both the Montreal Canadiens and Columbus Blue Jackets.
It was a must-win game for the Rangers (35-32-7), who let a two-goal lead slip away in the third period Friday during a 5-4 overtime loss to the Anaheim Ducks and were playing the worst team in the NHL just 24 hours later. It was their first victory on the three-game California road trip (1-1-1).
Artemi Panarin scored two first-period goals to get the Rangers off and running and now has 33 on the season, his second most in a season. Adam Fox also scored two goals for the third time in his career. Fox has four goals in his past four games.
Jonny Brodzinski scored his 10th goal of the season and Vincent Trocheck added his 21st, short-handed, for the Rangers. Twelve New York skaters recorded at least one point, including five of the six defensemen.
Making his first start since March 9, Jonathan Quick came within 2:14 of his fourth shutout this season. San Jose rookie Cam Lund scored his first NHL goal on the power play late in the third period, the only one of 22 shots that got past Quick.
Former Rangers goalie Alexandar Georgiev finished with 27 saves on 33 shots for the Sharks, who had won two in a row coming into the game.
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New York Rangers 6 – San Jose Sharks 1
After that terrible finish in Anaheim the night before, the Rangers came out and thoroughly outplayed the Sharks in the first period Saturday, achieving the fast start they craved against the worst team in the League.
The Rangers out-shot the Sharks 13-5 in the first period, and held a whopping expected goals share of 70.21 percent, per Natural Stat Trick. Panarin scored twice in a span of 1:54 and the Rangers carried a well-deserved 2-0 lead into the first intermission.
Brodzinski thought he had give the Rangers a 1-0 lead at 8:24, when he whipped a backhand shot into an open net. But the referee immediately waved the goal off because Mika Zibanejad initiated incidental contact with Georgiev before Brodzinski shot the puck.
Undeterred, the Rangers continued to outplay the Sharks and Panarin cashed in his first of the night at 12:04. With each of the Sharks skaters either in the middle or swung over to the other side of the ice, Panarin had as much time and space as he could’ve wanted after Braden Schneider hit him with a seam pass on left wing. Panarin patiently waited before he beat Georgiev short side with a wicked release to make it 1-0.
Allowing the first goal wasn’t a good omen for the Sharks, who entered the game 3-32-4 when surrendering the game-opening goal this season.
On his next shift, Panarin scored again. Trocheck won a face-off in the offensive zone and Will Borgen quickly got the puck to Panarin, who let a screen set up in front as he drifted to his left. He then sniped a shot between a defender’s legs and through the screen of Trocheck and Sharks rookie Macklin Celebrini to make it 2-0 at 13:58.
It was the seventh time this season Panarin scored multiple goals in a game.
The Rangers came out flying in the second period. Georgiev made a big save on Trocheck to begin the period and shortly after Brennan Othmann zoomed untouched toward the net and just missed his first NHL goal when his backhand shot caught the side of the net.
A quick transition and odd-man rush the other way nearly cost the Rangers, but Quick made an outstanding glove save on Will Smith’s 2-on-1 try at 2:34. That was a huge save because two minutes later the Rangers scored again. Instead of a 2-1 game, it was 3-0.
Fox scored for the second straight night when he was left all alone on right wing to bury a pretty cross-crease pass from Othmann at 4:48. Again, the Rangers took advantage of poor defensive play by the Sharks, who came into play with the worst team goals-against average in the NHL (3.66).
Quick made another brilliant save off an odd-man rush at 15:05. He burst across his crease from right to left to make a lightning quick save on Patrick Giles. Then at 16:49, Georgiev answered back, with a pretty glove save on Brodzinski off a 3-on-2 rush.
At 17:04, Quick was bowled over by Sharks rookie Collin Graf, who was charging hard to the net. Quick was a bit shaken up, and Graf headed to the penalty box for goalie interference. However, the Rangers didn’t receive a power play because Schneider was sent off for holding Graf on the play.
When the horn sounded signaling the end of the second period, the Rangers held a 3-0 lead and were up 22-13 in shots. They weren’t as dominant in the middle 20 minutes as they were in the first 20, but they were plenty good enough to remain in control of this one.
The Sharks opened the third period on a power play and Quick made an excellent point-blank save on Celebrini at 1:38. Then at the other end, Georgiev whiffed on Brodzinski’s shot off the rush at 3:08, and it was 4-0 Rangers.
The rout was on at 5:47 when Fox tapped a loose puck completely over the goal line to make it 5-0 after J.T. Miller banked a shot off Georgiev’s skate and partially over the goal line.
Trocheck buried a J.T. Miller feed for a short-handed goal at 16:53 to put an exclamation point on this game. It was New York’s League-leading 15th shorty this season.
Seconds later, Zibanejad was stoned on a short-handed breakaway and at the other end, Lund scored his first NHL goal at 17:45.
Now, the Rangers fly back to New York and then will watch as their competitors for that final playoff berth in the East make up games in hand on the Rangers, who don’t play again until they host the Minnesota Wild on Wednesday at Madison Square Garden.
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