Being down on the scoreboard heading into the third period has been a nightmare all season long for the Blueshirts.
Until Thursday night.
After 18 unsuccessful previous attempts (0-17-1)this season, the Rangers (21-20-3, 45 points) finally won their first game after trailing 40 minutes with a 5-3 victory over the Utah Hockey Club (18-19-7, 43 points).
The last time the Blueshirts trailed going into the final 20 minutes of action and won was a memorable one.
Down 3-1 in game six of the second round of the Eastern Conference playoffs against the Carolina Hurricanes, Chris Kreider scored a hat trick in less than 10 minutes of game time to propel the Rangers to a 5-3 victory and more notably, a berth in the Eastern Conference Final versus the Florida Panthers.
The Blueshirts still have a lot of work to do if they plan on getting back to that point last May but tonight was a promising result after being down and outshot 23-14 heading into second intermission.
With Thursday’s win, the Rangers have now recorded at least a point in each of their last six games (4-0-2), collecting 10 out of a possible 12 points since a 7-4 loss against the Washington Capitals on Jan. 4.
The victory also means they leapfrog the idle Penguins (44 points) and are now four points back of the Bruins (49 points) for the second and final wild card spot in the Eastern Conference.
Special teams goal leads to strong third period performance
Entering the third period trailing 3-2 and starting on the penalty kill, it seemed as if Utah would add to its lead on the man advantage and be the turning point it would need to take a two-goal lead and secure two points.
Yet, the complete opposite happened.
Only 28 seconds into the final frame, Reilly Smith’s shot deflected off of Utah’s Mikhail Sergachev’s stick and found the back of the net to tie the game, giving the Rangers life again after a tough two periods.
After Smith’s game-tying goal, the momentum started to go in the way of the Rangers, who limited the Utah Hockey Club to only five shots on goal over the last 15 minutes of action, including Utah going nearly 11 minutes without a puck on net during that stretch.
Despite the Rangers finishing 0-for-3 on the power play, the momentum of it led directly to Chris Kreider scoring the game-winning goal right off of a faceoff win in the offensive zone on a knuckleball that found its way past Utah netminder Karel Vejmelka under 30 seconds after their final man advantage expired.
Artemi Panarin’s empty netter and second goal of the night sealed the deal for the Blueshirts’ win in their first ever game at the Delta Center.
Arthur Kaliyev scores first goal with Rangers
Late in the first period, Kaliyev found a loose puck in front of the net and slid it by Vejmelka to tie the game at 2-2 in an action packed first period.
The goal was Kaliyev’s first point with the Rangers and his first time finding the back of the net in nearly 10 months, last doing so with Los Angeles last year on Mar. 28 against the Edmonton Oilers.
The former 2019 second-round pick was claimed off of waivers from the Kings on Jan. 6.
In his short time on the ice with the Rangers, Kaliyev has slotted in on the third line along with Chris Kreider on his opposite wing and Filip Chytil at center.
Before joining the Blueshirts, the 23-year-old forward had registered 71 points (35 goals, 36 assists) in 191 games with the Kings. His debut was delayed until 2025 after he broke his clavicle in training camp.
Matt Rempe benched
In order to try and get more of an offensive spark, head coach Peter Laviolette made the decision to bench Rempe midway through the second period.
Forward Will Cuylle replaced the 6-foot-7, 241-pound Rempe on the fourth line during that time, seeing his ice time increase from 13:28 time on ice (TOI) on Tuesday against the Avalanche to 16:18 TOI in the win over Utah thanks to double shifting after taking over Rempe’s spot in the lineup.
Rempe saw only 5:33 TOI on Thursday night in Utah, his fourth lowest total in the regular season.
This comes after he logged 6:32 TOI against the Golden Knights on Jan. 11 and 7:47 TOI versus the Devils on Jan. 9 in his return from the eight-game suspension he served after boarding Stars’ defenseman Miro Heiskanen on Dec. 20.
Given the Rangers spot in the standings and now past the halfway point in the regular season, it wouldn’t be a complete surprise if the Blueshirts continue to limit Rempe’s ice time or like Cuylle tonight, double shifting players if the team is trailing and the offense needs a boost.
