Key Takeaways after Rangers rally to defeat Canadiens 4-3
The New York Rangers’ offense finally showed up in the third period Saturday night.
The Rangers had scored just one goal in their previous three games, but they used a fast finish to overcome a slow start and defeat the Montreal Canadiens 4-3 at Bell Centre. Goals by J.T. Miller, Matthew Robertson and Artemi Panarin in a span of 5:17 early in the final period turned a 2-1 deficit into a 4-2 lead, and Jonathan Quick made it stand up despite allowing a goal to ex-Islanders defenseman Noah Dobson.
“I thought it was a real gutsy effort by the guys,” coach Mike Sullivan said after the Rangers improved to 3-3-1 for the season and 7-0-2 in their last nine visits to Montreal. They also ended the Canadiens’ four-game winning streak.
But the victory didn’t come easily.
The Rangers trailed by two goals before the game was four minutes old and were down 2-1 entering the third period before their offense, which had been virtually comatose during a three-game losing streak, came alive. Adam Fox’s shot hit Miller and went past Sam Montembeault 34 seconds into the final period to make it 2-2. Robertson, a rookie defenseman, picked a good time for his first NHL goal, putting the Rangers ahead with a long slap shot past Montembeault at 4:11.
Panarin, who had his third assist of the night on Robertson’s goal, gave New York a 4-2 lead at 5:51 with his first goal of the season, a top-shelf wrist shot from the right circle.
Montreal got one back on Dobson’s first goal with the Canadiens, a right point shot through traffic at 8:26. But Quick was perfect the rest of the way, making a couple of key saves in the late going, including one on Caufield with two minutes remaining.
The late comeback atoned for the face that the Rangers weren’t ready to go from the opening face-off and quickly found themselves in a two-goal hole.
Robertson got a bad bounce while trying to keep the puck in at the Canadiens’ blue line, and Montreal quickly turned it into the game’s first goal. Cole Caufield grabbed the puck, stepped around Robertson and was off on a 2-on-1 rush. He carried the puck into the Rangers’ zone before dishing a perfect pass to Juraj Slafkovsky, who beat a defenseless Quick 1:33 into the game for a 1-0 lead.
Urho Vaakanainen took a needless hooking penalty 38 seconds later, and the Canadiens doubled their lead at 3:42 when Nick Suzuki converted a perfect pass into the slot by rookie Ivan Demidov. Quick was again helpless, and Montreal owned a 2-0 lead.
Things looked even worse when Conor Sheary took a slashing penalty at 6:50. But the Rangers killed off this power play, then capitalized on their first man advantage when Mika Zibanejad rocketed a one-timer from the left circle past Montembeault at 11:56, making it 2-1.
That goal seemed to energize the Rangers, who had the better of play for the rest of the period but left the ice down a goal. They began to dominate play again late in the scoreless second period before finally breaking through in the third.
After going 1-0-1 against their two Original Six rivals from Canada, the Rangers are back home for their next two games, Monday against the struggling Minnesota Wild and Thursday against the winless San Jose Sharks.
Key takeaways from Rangers’ 4-3 road win against Canadiens
1. Big guns finally start firing
Perhaps the best sign for the Rangers was which players led the comeback.
After six games of producing little offense, the Blueshirts got a power-play goal from Zibanejad, the tying goal from Miller and the eventual game-winner from Panarin, who was named the game’s First Star after his four-point night – one more than he’d put up in the first six games of the season combined.
A visit to Montreal might have been just what Panarin needed. He has 33 points (eight goals, 25 assists) in 24 games against the Canadiens in his career, including a 10-game point streak in Montreal dating back to 2017-18.
“That feel like [my] first goal in a life,” he said. “I was so happy.”
So were the Rangers, who won’t go anywhere but home on April 16 if their big guys – especially Panarin, who’s led them in scoring for six straight seasons – don’t start doing their thing.
2. Slow start nearly proves costly
Despite the win, expect to emphasize the need to “start on time” rather than have to chase the game for most of the night.
The Rangers came out in a fog and were down 2-0 before they knew what hit them. It was the fifth time in seven games they’ve given up the first goal – but the first time they’ve come back to win.
Playing from behind is a tough way to win in the NHL, and Sullivan knows his team can’t keep spotting opponents the first goal (or two, as was the case against the Canadiens) and expect to win enough to get back into the Stanley Cup Playoffs after missing the postseason in 2024-25.
3. Rangers need goals at the Garden
The Blueshirts’ next two games are at home against two teams they should beat.
The Wild are 1-3-1 after blanking the St. Louis Blues 5-0 in their season opener and lost 2-1 in overtime in Philadelphia on Saturday. The Sharks, who finished last in the overall standings last season, entered the weekend as the NHL’s only winless team.
Of course, to beat any opponent, you’ve got to put the puck in the net – something the Rangers have yet to do at Madison Square Garden this season. Not only are they 0-3-0 at home, they’re also the first team in NHL history to be shut out in each of its first three home games.
The Rangers have allowed just three non-empty net goals in the three MSG games, meaning the defense and goaltending are doing their part. Sullivan has to hope that Saturday’s come-from-behind win is a sign of better things to come for his scorers.
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