With Jacob Trouba and Ryan Lindgren not in the lineup against the Ottawa Senators, Connor Mackey and Zac Jones stepped up big for the Blueshirts.
New York Rangers defenseman Zac Jones scored the go-ahead goal and recorded an assisting the Bluehsirts 7-2 victory on Saturday.
Down 2-0, Connor Mackey sparked the Rangers to life holding his own in a fight with Brady Tkachuk. It sparked the Rangers to score four goals on four shots and win the contest 7-2.
"[Peter Laviolette] was on the bench telling the guys to be a little more physical, so I hit Stutzle there and Brady [Tkachuk] asked me to go and I wasn't going to turn it down," Mackey told reporters following the game.
The team awarded Mackey the "Broadway Hat" after the game for his efforts. Jones scored the go-ahead goal at the 9:12 mark of the second period, jumping into the rush with Artemi Panarin to rip home a two-on-one passing play.
"As soon as he touched the puck. When that guy has the puck you just got to find the open ice and he's going to find you," Jones told reporters after the game.
"Mackey's game was excellent tonight jumping up and playing the way he did," Rangers head coach Peter Laviolette told a reporter after the game.
"But to take on a really tough kid and their captain in their building is a tall order. I'm really proud of those guys."
The Rangers were without captain Jacob Trouba, who was suspended two games for elbowing Pavel Dorofeyev in Friday night's contest against the Vegas Golden Knights.
Ryan Lindgren suffered an upper-body injury on Friday against the Golden Knights and was listed as a game-time decision against Ottawa but did not dress.
The club lost two of its top four defenders and needed a recall to substantially crunch minutes for the back end.
Without Trouba who averages 21:53 TOI, and Ryan Lindgren who averages 19:19 TOI, Jones and Mackey not only filled in but contributed.
Jones skated 14:12 TOI and Mackey skated 16:27 TOI even with a fighting major in the second period.
Jones recorded his second career NHL goal and his third career multi-point game to help the Rangers break a two-game skid.