Rangers bailed together for their leading 18th NHL win on Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden, overcoming a one-goal deficit at the start of the third period with three unanswered goals and winning 5-3 over the Blues.
Even the effect of Pavel Buchnevich’s return to his old treadmills would not stop the Rangers. No matter how bravely the former blue shirts and blues fought, scoring three goals in three shots in the 2:14 interval in the second period, the Rangers found a way to avoid their third consecutive loss in the regulations – skating they have not yet experienced this season.
After approximately 12 minutes left in the last period, the puck loosened from the Rangers’ attack and jumped to defender Patrick Nemeth at the top of the zone. Nemeth had a wide open net and made a shot that bounced off the skater of the blue striker Ivan Barbashev, from the crossbar and went for his first goal of the season to make the match 3-3.
Rangers won a strong game shortly after Colton Paraico was called in to delay the game. Adam Fox struck from the top of the zone, which Crider directed at 11:40 to regain the lead for Rangers. Then Artemi Panarin improved the score with a goal from an empty net.
As long as the Rangers were able to celebrate their rally at the end of the match, head coach Gerard Galant and the rest of the team were fired as the wave of blue goals changed the game.
“It’s great to have, but I was really disappointed that I gave up these three like that,” Galant said of the team’s endurance after the win. “[Goalie Igor Shesterkin] I just removed my tail tonight. He made some incredible saves in that first period, the last eight minutes of that period were amazing to keep us 1-0 ahead.
“Such things happen when you have character in your team, good leadership. They find a way and dig between periods. “
After Ryan Straw passed Panarin’s pass past St. Louis goalkeeper Ville Husse to increase the 2-0 lead at the start of the midfield, the Rangers suddenly became observers as the Blues took advantage of three consecutive shots.
First, the invasion of a strange man ended with the captain of the blues Ryan O’Reilly, who transferred Shesterkin. Then Barbashev defeated Shesterkin’s high glove a little over a minute later and tied the score. The Blues grabbed their first lead of the night after a goal by David Perrin with 15.8 seconds left in the middle to send the Blues ahead 3-2 in the third period.
Rangers lost center-back Kevin Rooney after the first 20 minutes, forcing Galant to continue with 11 strikers and change lines. Rooney, who won three of four matches in 5:26, remained in the locker room after the first break with an upper body injury, according to Rangers. Galant did not have an immediate update for Rooney after the match.
Still, the Signorians found a way to grab two points. Just call them the Returning Children.
“There will be certain nights when you don’t have it,” Crider said. “But being able to dig and do whatever it takes to win hockey games is obviously easier when you have the best goalkeeper in the world. But at the same time, to be able to find our game, to be able to forget about a bad shift or a bad period, not to let it accumulate, not to let disappointment overwhelm us, not just to go out and work. But we start working hard and working for each other and communicating. ”