Rangers vs Canadiens: New York Scores Five Unanswered And Wins Fifth Straight

Fifth straight win.

Ninth straight road win.

The New York Rangers continued their incredible run by clawing back from a 2-0 deficit and scored FIVE unanswered goals against the Montreal Canadiens. The Rangers trailed 2-1 heading into the third period before the offense took over and exploded with four goals in a seven minute span. Alexandar Georgiev had his work cut out during the first half of the game, and kept New York in the game with his spectacular play.

1st Period

Max Domi (16) - Jeff Petry (29) & Tomas Tatar (36) - 3:12 1st Period

The Rangers had some trouble with Montreal’s early pressure during the opening minutes of this game, and surrendered the first goal. Max Domi’s intended pass across the crease wound up deflecting off of Adam Fox’s skates and into the back of the net. Alexandar Georgiev never really stood a chance with the quick deflection, and New York trailed early in this game.

2nd Period

Tomas Tatar (22) - Brendan Gallagher (19) & Philip Danault (31) - 17:01 2nd Period

After getting the puck in down deep behind Carey Price, Montreal quickly forced a turnover and broke up the ice with numbers. Tomas Tatar was able to force his way through the middle of the ice, and caught a lead pass from Brendan Gallagher to spring the breakaway. Tatar mixed in a few head fakes and faked Alexandar Georgiev out of his shorts to give the Canadiens a late two-goal lead.

Phillip Di Giuseppe (1) - Adam Fox (27) & Ryan Lindgren (12) - 18:34 2nd Period

Just when it looked like the Rangers were going into the third period trailing 2-0, the Rangers got the spark they needed. After having a rough start to this game, Adam Fox completely redeemed himself by setting up Phillip Di Giuseppe late in the second period. With Di Giuseppe driving the net, Fox sent a spinning, no-look pass out in front of the net and the deflection beat Carey Price up high.

3rd Period

Mika Zibanejad (30) - Artemiy Panarin (54) & Julien Gauthier (2) - 11:06 3rd Period

The Rangers needed their big guns to step up in the third period, and boy, did they ever. David Quinn understood the circumstances and wound up pairing Mika Zibanejad and Artemiy Panarin together to start the third period. The slight adjustment by Quinn worked wonders and that line tied the game at the 11:06 mark of the third period. It was just a beautiful play all around, and Zibanejad finished it off with a hard, low wrist shot that beat Carey Price.

Adam Fox (7) - Ryan Lindgren (13) & Ryan Strome (40) - 12:21 3rd Period

Following the tying goal by Zibanejad, the Rangers were full steam ahead and completely took over the game from that point on. A little over a minute after Zibanejad’s tally, Adam Fox’s wrist shot founds its way through traffic and gave New York the lead. Chris Kreider did an excellent job of causing havoc in front of the net, and Carey Price wasn’t able to fully locate the puck as it came in on net.

Ryan Strome (17) PPG - Tony DeAngelo (34) & Artemiy Panarin (55) - 15:23 3rd Period

New York’s strong play was clearly frustrating the Canadiens and Ryan Lindgren drew a cross checking penalty on Brendan Gallagher. On the ensuing power play, the Rangers put the final nail in the coffin as Ryan Strome’s 17th goal of the season gave them a 4-2 lead in this game. Tony DeAngelo placed a wrist shot a perfect height for Ryan Strome and he deflected the puck under Carey Price.

Ryan Strome (18) ENG - Marc Staal (8) & Alexandar Georgiev (1) - 18:27 3rd Period

After scoring the massive power play goal just about three minutes prior, Ryan Strome put away the game with final goal on the empty net. Strome’s attempted outlet pass to Artemi Panarin was deflected by Shea Weber, and slid all the way down the ice into the yawning cage.

It’s just incredible how the Rangers just keep finding ways to win, even when you think they’re completely down and out. This is the youngest team in the NHL and they just went out an casually stole the game in front of a hostile Bell Centre crowd. The group is special and David Quinn continues to press all of the right buttons. Following tonight’s massive win, the Rangers sit just two points out of the final playoff spot with two games in hand.

On to Philadelphia.