The New York Rangers couldn't find ways to capitalize on opportunities early in the game, but persevered and found a way to comeback in the third period. Defeating the Red Wings by the score of 3-2 on home ice.
NEW YORK, NY -- It wasn't their prettiest game of the season, but the Rangers pushed and pushed until the broke through in the third period, completing another comeback on home ice.
LINEUP:
Kreider-Zibanejad-Wheeler
Panarin-Trocheck-Lafreniere
Cuylle-Bonino-Brodzinski
Vesey-Goodrow-Pitlick
Lindgren-Fox
Miller-Trouba
Gustafsson-Schneider
Shesterkin
1ST PERIOD:
The first period of this game was a weird one. The New York Rangers had some early chances on the man-advantage, which had some old and new looks to it. Adam Fox was back in the lineup for the first time since November 2nd after going down with an injury. Fox looked as comfortable as ever quarterbacking the first unit. Jimmy Vesey and Jonny Brodzinski got some looks on the second unit.
After the game, Fox told the media "Obviously just wanted to get by those first couple of shifts and then you're just playing hockey again. It was nice to be back out there with the guys."
They had some chances, especially Chris Kreider, who had two good looks in front, but didn't have any puck luck on his side.
The Rangers were the better team in the first. They really cleaned things up defensively after the performance against Buffalo. Overall, the opening frame didn't have much jam to it.
2ND PERIOD:
The second period still had an odd energy at the start, but the Rangers would find the games first goal. Alexis Lafreniere set up Artemi Panarin for a gorgeous goal off of the counter attack, thanks to a great read by K'Andre Miller.
Miller made a great defensive read, tightening up his gap and picking off the pass from Shayne Gostisbehere.
Miller's offensive instincts continue to improve from game to game. I spoke with him after the game about how he read this play along with his confidence in his ability to create offense. Miller said "I think just trying to simplify my game. I think that's the biggest thing. I think everything else comes after that. Being reliable and making a good first pass, being good in our D-zone are my keys right now."
In the postgame, Peter Laviolette had strong things to say about Miller's offensive game as well. Laviolette said "Offensively you're starting to see Key break through. He's up the ice. He's involved in the play. At times he's leading the attack, he's charging up the middle with the puck."
Panarin was the beneficiary of the games opening goal. Typically he's the guy setting up his line mates for Grade A scoring chances, but this season Lafreniere has set him up plenty of times.
I asked Panarin how nice it is to not have to be the playmaker on his line. Panarin laughed and told me "Feel nice, but usually I miss the easy ones haha. I just got to hit the net you know.”
The Rangers lead didn't last long. They would allow two goals in a 23 second span. Moritz Seider was first, ripping a point shot past Shesterkin thanks to a screen by former Ranger, Andrew Copp.
Shortly after, Robbi Fabbri found a loose puck in the slot on a broken play and beat Shesterkin high on the blocker side.
Whatever energy the Rangers had, shifted immediately to Detroit.
Shesterkin had some big stops toward the end of the middle frame, keeping the Rangers deficit to just one. Panarin and Lafreniere were making things happen offensively, but Detroit did a strong job at limiting any second or third opportunites.
Blake Wheeler had a breakaway at the end of the period, made a great move, but Ville Husso was able to shut him down.
The Rangers would trail by one going into the final 20 minutes.
3RD PERIOD:
The Rangers found an equalizer halfway through the final period. Mika Zibanejad made an incredibly poised cross-seam pass to Miller, who zipped it pass Husso. This assist extended Zibanejad's point streak to five games.
Lafreniere was driving the play all night for the Rangers. He, Trocheck and Panarin were extremely noticeable all night. "That line was excellent" Laviolette said.
Lafreniere did it again with a little more than four minutes to go in the third. He set up a 3-on-2 rush with Trocheck and Vesey.
Vesey would bury his own rebound out of mid-air, giving the Rangers a 3-2 lead, but the goal would be reviewed for a high stick, and it was VERY close.
Vesey jokingly told the media after the game "Not gonna lie, I didn’t want to look at the replay, but my initial reaction was that it was good.”
The Rangers had to kill a penalty in the final two minutes. They got huge blocks from Jacob Trouba and Barclay Goodrow, helping the team secure the 3-2 win.
After the game, Laviolette was very pleased with his teams perseverance.
I asked Laviolette about Miller's offensive awareness lately and he had nothing but positive things to say about that pairing. Laviolette told The Hockey News "He's [K'Andre Miller] playing really well. He and Jacob [Trouba] have a tough go every night. They draw the best players. Their job is to defend them and make sure we take care of things in our end. They're doing an excellent job at that. He's done a great job. I think Troubs is a great partner for him because he's a veteran player, leader and helps young players and I think it's a really good pairing."
That was a big bounce back win for this group that once again stands alone in first place in the NHL.