Rangers continue recent resurgence with impressive 2-1 win against Golden Knights

NHL: New York Rangers at Vegas Golden Knights
Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images

Look out, the New York Rangers actually are on a winning streak after an impressive 2-1 victory against the Vegas Golden Knights at T-Mobile Arena on Saturday in the opener of a three-game Western road trip.

Adam Edstrom scored with 14:03 remaining in the third period to lift the Rangers (20-20-2) to the win, their second straight after a 3-2 overtime victory against the New Jersey Devils at home on Thursday.

Edstrom missed most of the first period after blocking a shot near the blue line by Shea Theodore in the opening minutes. But he returned by the second and then capped off an outstanding sequence to snap a 1-1 tie.

Blanketed by Vegas defenseman Noah Hanifin in front of the net and with his back to goaltender Ilya Samsonov, Edstrom was able to get enough of his stick on a pass from the right face-off circle by Jonny Brodzinski for the deflection goal to end a sequence that started with Matt Rempe making an outlet pass out of the defensive zone.

“I know Remps got it on the wall, a great outlet pass Jonny there,” Edstrom said. “We kind of talked about crashing the net. I was just trying to get in there. I got a tip on the puck and it went in.”

It was Edstrom’s third goal of the season and first in 20 games since Nov. 27 at Carolina. It also was the first career game-winning goal in 53 NHL games for the 24-year-old forward, who debuted in December 2023.

Edstrom’s goal along with some standout defense gave the Rangers their first winning streak since taking three straight Nov. 14-19 as part of their 12-4-1 start. The Rangers are 4-1-1 in their past six contests following a four-game skid Dec. 22-30 and kept pace with the competition trying to move into a wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference.

“It’s two wins, but we’re playing a better brand of hockey right now,” Rangers coach Peter Laviolette said postgame. “We’re doing the right things to win games — and I think when you do that more consistently, your chances of being successful they go up.”

Vincent Trocheck scored a quirky power-play goal in the second on a setup by Mika Zibanejad, who suddenly has a six-game point streak.

Igor Shesterkin was strong again in his second start since missing four games with an upper-body injury. He followed up his showing against the Devils with a 29-save performance, allowing only a power-play tally by Mark Stone in the second period.

Aided by a more attentive defense that blocked 21 shots after blocking 20 against the Devils, Shesterkin came up with two big saves on a power play in the final minutes of the third. He tracked Stone moving through the crease and came out of the net for the save with 2:24 left, then denied Tomas Hertl 30 seconds later.

“As a team defensively, it seems like we’ve been doing that better the last couple of games,” said defenseman Ryan Lindgren, who has seven blocked shots in the past two games. “That’s the key to winning games. So it was a good one tonight for us.”

Related: Rangers playing catch-up in playoff race as second half begins

New York Rangers 2, Vegas Golden Knights 1

NHL: New York Rangers at Vegas Golden Knights
Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images

After a scoreless opening period that saw Reilly Smith get denied on three straight shots with about 10 minutes left, the teams traded power-play goals in the second.

Trocheck was called for a holding penalty that infuriated Laviolette. Nine seconds later, Stone snuck in from behind the right side of the net to tuck a wraparound past Shesterkin at 6:16.

The Rangers drew their first power play when Keegan Kolesar tripped K’Andre Miller at 8:30 and sustained pressure in the offensive zone before Trocheck parked himself in front of the net, took a slap shot from Zibanejad off his chest and whacked the loose puck into the net at 9:54.

Trocheck immediately headed to the locker room after celebrating his 14th goal but returned for his next shift a little over three minutes later.

After Trocheck’s goal, the Golden Knights sustained pressure in the final five-plus minutes. The Rangers were on the right side of a video review when officials ruled Hanifin’s shot crossed the goal line after the buzzer sounded to end the second period. The disallowed goal occurred after Jack Eichel had an open look that rang off the post with 1:43 left.

The Golden Knights outshot the Rangers 12-2 in the third period. But Shesterkin was the difference, stopping all 12, besting Ilya Samsonov, who finished with 24 saves for Vegas.

And then the fourth line won it. Edstrom was the hero, but Rempe started the scoring sequence and picked up his first point in six games with the Rangers this season.

All in all, a feel-good win for the Rangers, who skate in Denver against the Colorado Avalanche on Tuesday trying to make it three in a row.

Larry is a sports media veteran who has worked for all of the top wire services as a writer ... More about Larry Fleisher
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