Rangers Show Warrior Spirit, Complete Comeback Over Vancouver

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On Salute To The Troops night at The Garden, the Rangers hosted the Vancouver Canucks in a clash of two young teams looking to extend their respective points streaks. The Blueshirts won a close, albeit sometimes sloppy, game to send the MSG faithful home happy.

Filip Chytil – You could just sense that Filip Chytil was going to get the proverbial monkey off of his back and get his first goal of the season. And for the 19-year-old native of the Czech Republic, that finally happened in the second period of this one. With the Rangers on the man-advantage, Chytil found the rebound of Neal Pionk’s point shot and deposited it behind an outstretched Jacob Markstrom.

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Chytil has been impressive in his last few games, always surrounding the puck and putting himself in the right position offensively and defensively. With the way Chytil has been playing, don’t be surprised if he gets moved up to the first line to replace the injured Pavel Buchnevich.

Brett Howden – The 20-year-old Canadian stated often in training camp that he was going to do whatever it took to make the Rangers opening night roster. And now that we are a month into the 2018-19 season, it seems Howden won’t be going anywhere for a long time. With the game tied at one in the third, Howden found a loose puck and fired it past Markstrom to give the Blueshirts a lead they wouldn’t relinquish.

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The goal was Howden’s fourth of the season and his tenth point, tying for fourth in team scoring with linemate Jimmy Vesey and Mats Zuccarello. Howden has played so well that the Rangers coaching staff had him on the ice with the Canucks pressing for the tying goal in the final moments of the game. Brett Howden isn’t going anywhere.

Cody McLeod – If you’ve been following me all season, you know how much I was dumbfounded by the McLeod signing and with the amount of ice time he has gotten. But, for one night, his actions helped give the Rangers life and got the team going. After Goldobin gave Vancouver a 1-0 lead, McLeod dropped the mitts, won the tilt, and, as you’ll see in the clip below, turned to the bench telling his teammates to wake up. It’s safe to say that, at least for one night, McLeod had a positive impact on the ice.

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Henrik Lundqvist – Aside from a perfect shot from a Canucks forward, Henrik was in top of his game, backstopping the Blueshirts to their sixth win in the last seven games. Henrik made 25 stops on the night, including a flurry in the final seconds to preserve the victory. The win was the 437th of Lundqvist’s illustrious career, putting him in a tie with Hall of Famer Jacques Plante for seventh all-time.

Next Game: The Rangers will look to extend their winning streak to three against the Islanders on Thursday. Puck drops at 7!

LETS GO RANGERS!!

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