Rangers continue superb play on road by downing Red Wings 4-1
Noah Laba put on a show for his family and friends at Little Caesars Arena on Friday night while helping the New York Rangers continue their domination of the Detroit Red Wings with a 4-1 victory.
The rookie center, who grew up about 30 miles away in Northville, Michigan, had the kind of night a rookie dreams of. He scored the go-ahead goal early in the second period after being denied on a first-period shorthanded breakaway. Laba and his linemates, Jonny Brodzinski and Conor Sheary, were the Rangers’ best unit all night. Brodzinski had a couple of excellent chances; Sheary had an assist and drew three power plays.
But that wasn’t all the good news for the Rangers, who improved to 7-6-2 overall and 7-1-1 on the road.
Artemi Panarin, minus his hair after getting his head shaved before the trip, ended a six-game pointless streak with a bang – assisting on the first two goals and scoring the third. Alexis Lafreniere scored his first goal since Oct. 9, and Jonathan Quick made 32 saves for his fourth straight win in Detroit since joining the Rangers for the 2023-24 season. The win was Quick’s 407th, tying him with Hockey Hall of Famer Glenn Hall for 12th place on the all-time list.
In all, the Rangers have won seven in a row against their Original Six rival, who came into the game second in the Atlantic Division at 9-5-0 and owners of a five-game winning streak at home.
New York got the game’s first power play when Andrew Copp was called for holding Sheary at 6:28. They needed just 18 seconds for their remodeled top unit to capitalize. Mika Zibanejad’s cross-ice pass found Will Cuylle racing into the left circle, and he zipped a quick shot into the top far corner for a 1-0 lead. It was the Rangers’ fifth power-play goal in 37 tries this season and their first in six games.
Though Adam Fox’s holding penalty at 7:21 gave the Wings their first power play, Laba had the best scoring chance. He stole the puck at the red line and went in alone, but ex-Ranger Cam Talbot stopped him with his pad.
That save appeared to invigorate Detroit, which began to dominate play and tied the game on a goal by J.T. Compher at 11:06. Compher was left alone in the lower left circle to take a passout from Mason Appleton and beat a defenseless quick to make it 1-1.
Sheary earned another power play when Marcus Johansson tripped him at 2:39 of the second period. The Rangers didn’t score with the extra man, but they went ahead 2-1 at 4:52 when Laba outfought the defense to get position in front and lifted a spinning backhander into the net.
“It was special to score where you grew up watching games,” Laba told MSG between periods. “It’s something I dreamed about my whole life – a pretty special moment.”
Detroit had a golden opportunity to tie the game just after the nine-minute mark when Quick misplayed the puck while trying to swat it away from Patrick Kane. The former Ranger got the bouncing puck into the crease, but the combination of Quick and defenseman Braden Schneider and Carson Soucy managed to keep it out of the net.
“I knew I got his stick pretty good and that I had help coming back,” Quick said postgame. “It was a little bit of chaos, but we kept it out.”
The Rangers thought they had scored at 18:16 when Cuylle beat Talbot, but Miller made contact with the goaltender in the crease and the officials disallowed the goal. However, New York blew the game open in the third period by scoring twice in 58 seconds. Panarin got his third of the season at 7:29, and Lafreniere followed with his second at 8:27.
Key takeaways after Rangers roll to 4-1 win over Red Wings
1. A night to remember for Noah Laba
The score sheet doesn’t list Laba as one of the game’s Three Stars. That seems absurd, since no player on the ice was more visible than the rookie center during his first visit to an arena where he spent much of his youth watching his heroes.
“It was awesome,” he said. “I was excited to get a win in my home town.”
Laba scored his third goal in six games and his first NHL game-winner but could have had a couple more. He, Brodzinski and Sheary made life miserable for the Wings every time they were on the ice.
“I was thrilled for him,” coach Mike Sullivan said. “He had a lot of energy.”
The coach also noted that Laba had plenty of support in the crowd.
“I don’t know how many tickets he had to buy,” Sullivan said with a smile, “but it sure was exciting for them.”
2. Artemi Panarin ends scoring slump with a bang
MSG analyst Steve Valiquette nailed it after the game when he noted that “The Breadman” had a smile on his face after scoring his first goal since Oct. 20. It was the kind of smile Panarin has worn a lot since joining the Rangers in 2019 — but not very often this season.
Panarin looked like the player who’s led the Rangers in scoring in each of his six seasons with the team — and who’s being counted on for big offensive numbers again.
“Our best players were our best players,” Sullivan said. “I think that’s an important element of the game tonight.”
Facing the Red Wings might have been just the tonic for what was ailing Panarin’s scoring touch. The three points give him 44 (17 goals, 27 assists) in 26 games against Detroit.
Panarin got off to a blazing start in 2023-24 after shaving his head. Will a repeat have the same result?
“I hope so,” he said with a laugh. “Just one game. It’s not, like, make me a better hockey player, but more ugly for sure.”
3. Will road success finally lead to first home win?
The Rangers didn’t get much time to enjoy the win. They hopped a plane back to New York and will host the Islanders on Saturday in search of their first win at Madison Square Garden this season. At 0-5-1, the Rangers are the only team in the NHL that has yet to win in its own building — and the first team in NHL history to win seven games on the road before its first home win.
“We look forward to taking the momentum from this game back home with us,” Quick said.
The Blueshirts have scored just six goals in their six home games and have been shut out four times. But a visit from the Islanders might be just what they need to get off the schneid at the Garden. The Isles will also be playing their second game in two nights – they were awful on Friday in a 5-2 loss to the Minnesota Wild at UBS Arena — and have been giving up boatloads of high-danger scoring chances. The Rangers swept the four-game season series from their suburban rivals in 2024-25 and have beaten them five straight times at MSG.
Igor Shesterkin is 7-0-0 in his last seven games against the Islanders, most of them against fellow Russian Ilya Sorokin, who is 0-4-2 in his last six games against the Rangers and has struggled for most of this season. Sorokin is 3-4-2 but has a 3.33 goals-against average and .879 save percentage, far below his career numbers (2.60 GAA/.915 save percentage).
