Rangers Recall: Emotional Stadium Series rally tops Isles for 7 straight wins
The New York Rangers overcame a 4-1 deficit after the first and a 5-3 hole in the third period with an incredible late rally for a 6-5 OT win on Sunday.
Over 79,000 people at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, mostly Rangers’ fans, erupted when Mika Zibanejad tied it with 1:29 remaining on the power play. The roar was so loud that it could probably be heard all the way to Montauk. That charged the Blueshirts’ adrenaline even more, leading to Artemi Panarin’s winner just 10 seconds into the extra session.
On the play, Panarin knocked down a Noah Dobson pass in front of Ilya Sorokin. Looking to get the Isles goalie to move, Dobson came across the crease trying to block the shot and knock the net off, which he did. At that same time, Panarin’s shot pin-balled over the goal line. After a brief review, the score was rightfully allowed to stand because the net coming off had no bearing on where the puck crossed the line.
“Deafening,” is how Kreider described the crowd.
Let’s break down an amazing game to close out the 2024 NHL Stadium Series
Rangers Recall: Emotional comeback
Rangers leaders came through!
When talking about the comeback, it has to start with Vincent Trocheck who scored twice and added an assist. The two-way pivot notched both goals in the second period to make it 4-3 in the final frame.
After an unfortunate play early in the third period saw Alexander Romanov’s follow through cut Ryan Lindgren’s eye, he skated right to net for an easy tap in to extend the lead. Although dejected, the Rangers stuck with it and used their power play with less than five minutes remaining to tie the game
First, it was Chris Kreider with a tip to cut it to a one-goal lead at the 15:52 mark. Head coach Peter Laviolette boldly opted to pull Igor Shesterkin for a two-man advantage that sparked the memorable rally.
A late tripping call on the Islanders set up another situation to pull Shesterkin. When Zibanejad’s power play goal blasted past Sorokin, the emotions both in the stands and on the was explosive.
“In situations where we’re down, we know what we have to do,” Zibanejad explained. “We’ve been good getting back on track and obviously scoring big goals.”
The overtime started with the crowd still buzzing from how regulation finished, so when Panarin ended the game, it was like the top blew off a volcano.
“The atmosphere was electric,” Panarin said. “It was something I couldn’t compare with anything else. I had to hold back tears because it was that much of a spectacle.”
New York has now won seven straight games, which is a season-high in this incredible 2023-24 campaign. They continue to hold first-place in the Metro Division and have a six point lead over the Carolina Hurricanes.
“There were lots of keys in that game, but that had to happen at the end, those guys that were on the ice had to work, had to fight, scratch and deliver a game with under six minutes to go, under two minutes to go, and they really did,” Laviolette remarked.
Forever Blueshirts at Stadium Series
Executive Editor Jim Cerny was at MetLife Stadium covering all the action. Don’t miss these other great stories!
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