The New York Rangers won their second consecutive victory over the weekend by winning the set of two games against the New Jersey Devils. It also marks the second consecutive game in which Rangers scored six goals against Devils and won four major points in the standings. Alexandar Georgiev nodded this afternoon as he took control of the injured Igor Shesterkin, who made an excellent shot with 24 saves throughout the game.
1st period
Adam Fox (2) – Alexandar Georgiev (1) PPG – 2:06
With Rangers getting off to a bad start in the last game against New Jersey, they made it a point to leave with a better opening a few minutes. They did just that after Sami Vatanen was sent off with a minor double for high sticking and gave the Rangers their first power game. Adam Fox worked fast on the man’s advantage by collecting a garbage dump from Alexandar Georgiev and flying upward on the ice. Fox managed to beat New Jersey through the middle without contestation, bypassed the defenders and hit the puck under the command of Mackenzie Blackwood.
Ryan Strome (7) – Chris Kreider (3) and Kaapo Kakko (2) – 7:15
Just over five minutes later, Rangers increased the lead in Ryan Strome’s seventh game of the season. New York did an excellent job on the forecheck to force a turn, and they quickly transferred the record back to the high position. Chris Kreider and Kaapo Kakko combined in the passing game, and Ryan Strome finished with a lethal backhand under the crossbar to make the game 2-0.
PK Subban (2) – Pavel Zacha (9) and Jesper Bratt (6) – 14:54
Later, in the first period, the Devils slightly increased the pressure and were rewarded with a pair of goals. The PK Subban defeated Alexandar Georgiev from inside the blue line, and the puck flew to the upper right corner of the net. It looked like there was a partial screen in front of Nikita Gusev, and his light stroke with the stick moved Georgiev’s line of sight away.
Mikhail Maltsev (3) – Nathan Bastian (4) and Yegor Sharangovich (3) – 15:11
Less than 20 seconds later, the Devils returned to the game after a transitional move through the neutral zone. Adam Fox was caught in the ice from the previous race, and no one covered his spot when New Jersey flew back to the ice in the transition. Nathan Bastian found Mikhail Maltsev cutting through the ice, hit him with a perfect pass and Maltsev defeated Georgiev on the forehand.
Kevin Rooney (4) – Filip Chytil (3) and Julien Gauthier (2) – 17:06
As if this period was not enough, Rangers closed the first 20 minutes with the third goal of the period. Filip Chytil created the whole sequence by forcing a defensive game on the blue line and generated a 2-to-1 race for the offensive zone. Kevin Rooney managed to open on the left side of the net and hit Chytil’s pass in the middle of the ice. Mackenzie Blackwood almost took a piece of the puck by spreading to the other side, but Rooney landed the perfect shot on the left post to give the Rangers a 3-2 lead.
2nd period
Libor Hajek (1) – Pavel Buchnevich (11) and K’Andre Miller (5) – 1:05
Despite having given up two goals in the second period, Rangers scored early in the period to regain the advantage of two goals. Just a minute later, Rangers managed to put the puck in the offensive zone and K’Andre Miller made a great move to recover the puck behind the net. Miller moved the puck back up, where the puck opened the way for Libor Hajek, who launched a low shot into the goal. With a lot of traffic in front of the net, Mackenzie Blackwood didn’t even see the kick when the ball passed him and New York opened 4-2.
3rd period
Filip Chytil (3) – Julien Gauthier (3) – 8:38
About two minutes before halfway through the third period, Filip Chytil extended the Rangers lead to three goals with the third of the season. Julien Gauthier deserves all the credit in the goal, as he carried the puck below the goal line, beat his man and then gave a forward pass while falling. Chytil was able to catch the disc loose in the front, made a move to the backhand and slid the disc past Mackenzie Blackwood.
Nathan Bastian (2) – Travis Zajac (2) and Jesper Bratt (7) – 17:48
New Jersey managed to return a goal at the end of the third period, when Rangers collapsed in their own zone, and allowed a game in the middle of the ice. Travis Zajac made a great centering move to put Nathan Bastian in the top position and kicked the goalkeeper. Alexandar Georgiev got a good portion of the record, but it slipped under his right arm and rolled to the bottom of the net.
Ryan Strome (8) – Adam Fox (12) – 18:47
Almost a minute later, the Rangers managed to overthrow the Devils with the goalkeeper pulled across the ice. Adam Fox interrupted a potential run and immediately passed the puck to Ryan Strome on the opposing blue line. Strome froze the game with his second goal and put Rangers 6-3.
The Rangers had a much better start to the game and were in charge for most of the game. Even though they had a small blip on the radar in the first period, they responded quickly and never really looked back. New York City is finally getting scoring contributions up and down the roster, and its young players continue to progress game by game. While the Rangers welcome players like Artemiy Panarin and Jacob Trouba back, they will continue to work based on these efforts.
After a weekend of two Devils victories, the Rangers will have a small twist as they head to Pittsburgh for a meeting with the Pittsburgh Penguins tomorrow night.