New York Rangers look rejuvenated after first back-to-back wins since mid-November

The smiles in the locker room said it all after the New York Rangers edged the Vegas Golden Knights 2-1 at T-Mobile Arena on Saturday, giving them back-to-back wins for the first time since they won three in a row from Nov. 14-19.
The Rangers beat the team that entered the night first in the NHL in points percentage two nights after a 3-2 overtime victory over the New Jersey Devils, the second-place team in the Metropolitan Division that embarrassed them twice last month. New York heads for a Tuesday night game against the Colorado Avalanche in Denver on Tuesday with a 4-1-1 record since the turn of the calendar. Now officially back to the NHL’s version of .500 at 20-20-2, the Rangers enter Sunday’s games four points behind the Columbus Blue Jackets, who hold the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference, and five back of the slumping Boston Bruins, who own the first wild card.
After weeks of gloom and doom as the losses piled up – the Rangers were 4-15-0 in their last 19 games of 2024 – they’re smiling again after starting to stack some wins together and give themselves a realistic chance for a playoff berth.
“I feel like we kind of found something here, especially with the defense we’re playing right now,” said fourth-line forward Adam Edstrom, whose third-period goal broke a 1-1 tie. “So, just keep on building on that, and keep on going.”
The Rangers fell behind 1-0 on Mark Stone’s power-play goal 6:16 into the second period. But unlike many other recent games when the Rangers struggled to recover after allowing the game’s first goal, they needed less than four minutes to even the score. The power play, which was 2-for-3 against New Jersey after weeks of misfires, turned its only opportunity of the night into the tying goal when Vincent Trocheck whacked home a loose puck at 9:54.
Edstrom got the game-winner by tipping Jonny Brodzinski’s shot past Ilya Samsonov at 5:57 of the third period. The play was started by a smart outlet pass by fellow fourth-liner Matt Rempe.
Rangers look rejuvenated after back-to-back wins
Coach Peter Laviolette was delighted with the way his team was able to build on the win against the Devils by beating one of the NHL’s top teams.
“I thought we were right on point, right from the start,” Laviolette said. “For me, it’s a follow-up from the last game as well. it was a really solid effort and game at home [against the Devils], and then to come on the road a day later, take the travel, get out here and play tonight.
“The first period was excellent, and then (we) just followed it through for 60 minutes.”
Edstrom’s goal, his third of the season, was the type of tally the Rangers need more of – one that featured grit and a willingness to go to the net.
“We kind of talked about crashing the net, so I was just trying to get in there,” he said. “Got a tip on the puck and it went in. … You pretty much practice tips from everywhere. That’s one of those things I’ll put some time and effort into, like the shots from the side. It was good to get one.”
Igor Shesterkin did the rest, making 12 of his 29 saves in the third period. He has back-to-back wins after missing four matchups with an upper-body injury. The netminder was especially sharp in the final minutes, when the Golden Knights had a late power play and pulled Samsonov for a 6-on-4 skating advantage. After weeks of facing a barrage of Grade A chances on a nightly basis, a less-stressed Shesterkin looks like the goaltender who helped the Rangers win 55 contests and the Presidents’ Trophy last season.
In turn, the confidence he radiates reflects back on his teammates, who are playing the kind of grinding game that hadn’t been seen in weeks.
“We were hard defensively and that’s something we really wanted to clean up,” said defenseman Ryan Lindgren, who sacrificed his body to make a key block in the third period, helping to preserve the one-goal lead. “That’s the key to winning games.”
There’s still half a season to go, and the Rangers are among seven teams within five points of a wild-card berth. The game at Colorado begins a stretch of four games in six days in four cities, including a meeting with the Blue Jackets at the Garden on Saturday. But they enter the week with the kind of confidence that’s been missing for the past several weeks.
Brodzinski said the 2025 surge has rejuvenated the Rangers as they prepare to make a playoff push.
“Just get getting some life back in this locker room … We’re going out expecting to win every single game, and (when) we get down one, it doesn’t really matter anymore,” he said. “We have a belief in here, and everybody’s playing with a ton of confidence.”
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