The last time the Rangers had a one-goal lead heading into a third period, Wednesday in Toronto, they gave up the game-tying goal with just over four minutes left in regulation and ultimately lost in overtime.
On Friday, after leading by a goal at the start of the third period at Madison Square Garden, the Rangers padded their lead and eventually defeated the Golden Knights, 4-1, to take a 27-14-8 record and a good feeling into their eight-day hiatus for the All-Star break.
It was a much-needed response after the disheartening finish against the Maple Leafs.
“I think sometimes you get a lead against a good team, you start to sit back on your heels a little bit and try to play defense the whole period and tonight I thought we did a better job of just sticking with our game and not sitting back,” said Vincent Trocheck, who had a hand in both of the Rangers’ two first-period goals, scoring one and assisting on the other, by Chris Kreider.
The Rangers will head into their second break from game action on a high note after playing a commanding third period, in which they scored twice and outshot the Golden Knights 13-9. Filip Chytil, who has 12 points in the Rangers’ past 11 games, gave his team a comfortable two-goal lead with 5:38 left in the final frame after sticking with the puck and banking it off Vegas defenseman Shea Theodore and in.
To cap the scoring, Jimmy Vesey recorded an empty-net goal to send the Golden Knights to their third straight loss and their sixth in their past seven games.
Not only did the Rangers bounce back as a team, but also Trocheck’s line, with Kreider and Barclay Goodrow, had its own redemption moment that spanned the entire first period. After a rough night Wednesday, when the trio was on the ice for the game-tying goal in addition to other lapses, this time they generated two goals in the first period and combined for 12 shots throughout the game.
“I really liked their game tonight,” head coach Gerard Gallant said. “They played strong, Troch is real good and strong defensively in our zone, so I liked the way that line played tonight.”
The past two months have been all about the rebound for goalie Jaroslav Halak, who won the battle of the backup goaltenders Friday behind 33 saves in one of his best performances of the season. The Slovakian made key saves in key moments to extend his winning streak to five straight games, which has played a part in the Rangers’ ability to turn their season around and stay competitive in the Metropolitan Division.
With Igor Shesterkin headed to the All-Star Game, along with Artemi Panarin and Adam Fox, the Rangers’ coaching staff opted to go with Halak in net. If they had gone with Shesterkin for a third straight game, Halak would’ve gone over three weeks without seeing game action.
“I wasn’t thinking about it,” Halak said when asked how important it was to get between the pipes before the layoff. “If I got the start, I get the start, If I [didn’t] get the start, so be it. I would come after the break, have a good practice and see where it goes after that. But I’m glad I got the start, I get the first win at home and now we can enjoy the break.
“After the break, everybody has to come and our schedule is going to be crazy the next two and a half months, so everybody needs to be ready to play.”
