The Rangers completed the Western Canada seeep with a 3-2 win over the Oilers. After defeating the Canucks and Flames thanks to the brilliant goaltending of Henrik Lundqvist, Alexandar Georgiev did his part to earn New York the victory. In stopping 35 of the 37 shots he faces, 31 of which were fired in the final two stanzas. Georgiev notched his first career NHL win.
Game recap:
MSG Post-Game:
The Rangers headed out west a beaten and defeated team, fresh off seven straight losses (0-6-1) while seeing several key members dealt leading up to and at the trade deadline in what could only be considered a purge and opportunity for a higher-draft pick up built for the future. Maybe the pressure is off following the passing of that deadline, as the team clearly is playing freer - and I don’t just mean defensively - on the ice. Young and new blood have mixed with the veterans, resulting in the Blueshirts’ first three-game winning streak since Dec. 15-19.
Carolina and Columbus are tied for the final spot with 69 points and 17 games to play while the Panthers have 68 points with 20 games remaining. The Blueshirts have 66 points, tied with the Islanders, with 16 games to go. As seen in the prior sentence, the Rangers are within three points of the final wild-card berth in the Eastern Conference. But let’s pump the brakes a bit on fanciful thoughts on the playoffs.
New York beat three teams they either are struggling lately or playing out the string, each of whom are dealing with their own issues. The upcoming schedule fortells a more difficult task at hand. Winnipeg, Tampa, Florida, Carolina and Pittsburgh are the next five on the docket; a much more daunting gauntlet than the three Canadian contests that just passed. Following those five games, contests versus St. Louis, Columbus and Pittsburgh follow, after which it's Washington (home-and-road), Tampa (last home game) and Carolina (road) to close out March. In April, New York faces the Devils, Islanders and Flyers, all on the road.
The goal is still to have the young kids get more experience, allowing for further evaluation, the same with the new blood, with the playoffs a much lower focus. But I will say, as was pointed out in a prior blog comment, you play the game the right way and see what happens. Call it karma or whatever term you like, but give 100% on each and every shift and time on the ice and whatever happened, happens. If you do that and finish outside the top-five, maybe the ping-pong balls will still shine your way.
Nee York took a 1-0 lead just 54 seconds in on Chris Kreider’s first goal in five games back from the blood clot and rib resection that had sidelined him since Dec. 29 (and his first goal overall since Dec. 15). A nice pokecheck by John Gilmour to keep the puck in the offensive zone. The puck ended up on the stick of Mika Zibanejad, whose beautiful touch pass found Kreider back door past Kris Russell for the goal. After allowing 106 shots the last two games, the Blueshirts dictated the first period in limiting the Oilers to six shots. New York controlled the puck and play but the tide started to turn in the second.
Edmonton tied it early in the second when Connor McDavid snuck one by Georgiev from the left side, a shot the rookie goalie should have stopped. New York retook the lead on a power-play goal by Zibanejad, as the KZB line made some noise in this contest. Later, a nice ply by David Desharnais prevented an Edmonton clear and one of Cody McLeod's six shots was deflected by Paul Carey for a 3-1 lead. With just over three minutes to go in the period, a delayed penalty resulted in a 6-on-5 and McDavid took advantage, steaming down the middle of the Rangers' zone, then finding Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, who returned to action last night after missing 18 games, for an easy goal to make it 3-2 going into the third. Edmonton tallied 16 shots while the Rangers had 22, but the shell was coming.
In the third, New York allowed Edmonton to completely control play. Backing off and content to chip the puck out, the Rangers had just four shots while the Oilers had 22. That style of play is unsustainable and unwise, yet the Blueshirts continue to play with fire, hoping that whoever is in net bails out the team and coaching staff, Yesterday, it was Georgiev doing so in a case where the end once again did not justify the means.
Georgiev, the 22-year-old Russian, stoned each and every one of those 22 Edmonton shots in the third period and has stopped 106 of 114 shots in three appearances. As the News and Post pointed out, Georgiev, signed as a free agent this past July after having gone undrafted despite being ranked the 10th-best European goaltender by Central Scouting in 2015, became the first-ever Bulgarian-born goaltender to earn an NHL win.