Yes! Yes! Yes! Rangers down Islanders in wild shootout (NYR 6 v NYI 5)
“Kiss Cam”? Kreider gives Talbot’s helmet a victory smooch (Mike Strobe/Getty images)
The Rangers found themselves in a hole just 11 seconds into the game when Cam Talbot fed a pass behind the net to John Tavares. Bang, it was 1-0 Islanders and the Coliseum crowd erupted “YES! YES! YES!”
RANGERS 6 vs. ISLANDERS 5
WWE fans know how Daniel Bryan took that chant all the way to the Heavyweight Title at last year’s Wrestlemania. The “Yes Movement” as it is called, brought the ultimate glory to the Bryan and Islanders fans are hoping it does to same for them.
Just in case it needs to be clarified, the WWE is scripted and the NHL is not.
Take nothing away from the Islanders last night or this season, they’ve been great. However, the glaring defensive lapses and prime chances they give up aren’t the type of hockey games that win many playoff series come April.
NYR v NYI 2.16.15 (ESPN)
Granted, the Blueshirts didn’t look so great for the first two periods but in the third they turned it around. They did so in such spectacular fashion, that it would rival any main event at Wrestlemania.
The Rangers had been outshot 37-24 after 2 periods and were down 4-3. Ryan Strome scored early in the third period and put the Islanders up 5-3 and it looked like they were on to another win with “YES!” chants rocking the Old Barn in Uniondale.
Then the Rangers reversed the movement as Daniel Bryan once did and said “No! No! No!” The Blueshirts stormed the Islanders defenses and a very pedestrian Jaroslav Halak was beaten 3 times on 18 shots. Goals by Derek Stepan, Martin St. Louis knotted it up. Then it was Kevin Klein who scored his career high 9th goal of the season and the Rangers took the lead!
The Blueshirts would hold on for the final 4:32 and only yielded 6 shots to the Islanders in the final frame. “We were down by two twice and the guys battled back. It was a wild one,” the Rangers hero, Klein said.
Ryan McDonagh, who may have played one of his best games as a Ranger said it was a “real gut check for us.” It was his late first period tally that had the Rangers buzzing after being dominated 22-11 in shots but only down 2-1 on the scoreboard.
The quote of the night came from defenseman, Marc Staal talking about Klein’s game winner. “That’s a great shot. I was already going over to celebrate when he got it.”
Hey, maybe last night’s game was scripted? If it was, well Ranger fans will take it “YES, YES, YES!”
One more for the road… #LetsGoRangers pic.twitter.com/Fg0shfXb9m
— FullTilt Rangers (@NYR_FullTilt) February 17, 2015
NOTES
Halak was stopping .923 of Rangers high quality chances when the league avg is .850! Tonight, it caught up to him! Talbot owes Klein dinner. — FullTilt Rangers (@NYR_FullTilt) February 17, 2015
Rangers win and burn Islanders for 6 goals! Fishsticks anyone? pic.twitter.com/24Q7KdYFE0
— FullTilt Rangers (@NYR_FullTilt) February 17, 2015
Staal on Klein’s shot: “That’s a great shot. I was already going over to celebrate when he got it.” — Dan Rosen (@drosennhl) February 17, 2015
That was a fun game tonight. Huge team win for NYR!!
— Ryan McDonagh (@RMcDonagh27) February 17, 2015
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