Patrick Kane stars in first home win with Rangers, defeat Caps
The New York Rangers got a modicum of revenge against the Capitals for a loss on February 25 in Washington. On Tuesday night, in the friendly confines of Madison Square Garden, the Blueshirts took an early lead and came away with a solid 5-3 victory.
It was also the first win at home for newcomer Patrick Kane, who lost his Garden debut against the Ottawa Senators on March 2. The Rangers went on a four-game road trip afterwards forcing this magic moment to wait a little longer.
“It was great,” Kane said. “The building was on fire tonight. Obviously, second game here it’s entertainment, it’s a show here. You see all the people at the game… it’s pretty special.”
Patrick Kane gets first home win with New York Rangers
Mika Zibanejad opened the scoring early in the contest off a beautiful one-timer in the slot thanks to a nice Vladimir Tarasenko feed at the 4:09 mark.
The Rangers dominated most of the first period holding the Capitals to no shots for a long stretch. However, a brief lapse in coverage led to a Nicolas Aube-Kubel equalizer with 5:31 remaining.
Fans at the Garden weren’t dejected for long as Igor Shesterkin made a long pass to Artemi Panarin at the opposite blue-line leading to Zibanejad’s second tally of the match just 16 seconds later.
The Rangers capitalized on their second power play opportunity when Patrick Kane walked into a slap shot from the left point with 74 ticks on the clock to make it 3-1. Adam Fox registered his 50th assist of the season on the goal.
Captain Jacob Trouba opened a three goal cushion finishing a beautiful set up by Vincent Trocheck and Kane less than five minutes into the second period.
The Blueshirts would need that cushion as the Capitals battled hard scoring a goal in the middle and final frame to make it a nail biter.
“The first period was outstanding,” Gerard Gallant said. “After that it was okay, but it was much better than the previous game. We got a little too cute.”
Shesterkin battled throughout the night, making several big stops en route to his 30th win of the year as he finished with 28 saves.
Jimmy Vesey sealed the victory with a long distance backhander into an empty net at the 17:49 mark.
Washington played the game without Alex Ovechkin. He missed the contest with a lower-body injury. Defenseman John Carlson was also out.
The New York Rangers will play the Pittsburgh Penguins in their next two games, both at home. They currently have an 8 point lead over the Pens, who lost to the Montreal Canadiens last night.
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