After trailing 4-1 in the third period, the Rangers scored five unanswered goals in the final frame to beat the New York Islanders 6-4. The Rangers seemed doomed as they remained scoreless for the first two periods, struggling to get any sort of offensive momentum. Then all of the sudden the Rangers came alive. Led by two goals from Zac Jones and Chris Kreider respectively, the Rangers rallied their way all the way back. It was just a preseason game, but the atmosphere felt as if the Rangers were in the thick of the regular season competing for points in the standings. A lot happened through these 60 minutes, very unordinary for a preseason game. Firstoff, Filip Chytil suffered a lower-body injury in the first period and after being sent to the locker room and barely being able to put weight on his leg, he returned almost minutes later and played the rest of the game. Then, Ryan Lindgren was ruled out with an upper-body injury, most likely sustained when he fought Scott Mayfield in the first period. Late in the game Artemi Panarin went to the locker room, which Peter Laviolette later revealed was because of a lower-body injury that will be evaluated. Meanwhile in terms of play, Jones had an excellent performance, showing he can be a real offensive threat, something the Rangers were missing from the blueline last season. He is making a real case to make New York’s opening night roster. Chytil bounced back from his first period incident and scored a goal, creating a feel good story for a player that has had to overcome so much. Reilly Smith looked comfortable alongside Chris Kreider and Mika Zibanejad. These three will almost certainly make up the team’s first line, so it’s a good sign they are already on the same page. For the majority of the contest, the Rangers were pretty lackluster, but this team proved that they can completely flip the script at any point. Sean Avery Illustrates Rangers Perfect Shift The Blueshirts started their home campaign with a bang, a good omen for the remainder of the season.
