Recap: Ducks Edge Rangers 5-3 in Intense Road Showdown

The Rangers' road trip continued with a trip out west to take on the Anaheim Ducks for the second time this season. The Rangers deployed a similar lineup as they did in their victory against the Philadelphia Flyers. Carson Soucy joined the team on their trip but did not play in the game while Spencer Martin got the start in net. This was the second matchup between the two teams this season, with the Ducks winning the first one in Madison Square Garden.

Both teams battled throughout the night, which resulted in each team possessing the lead at one point. The fight picked up during the second period, with each side having a power play goal during the period. Anaheim took the lead into the third period and quickly extended it. From there, the Rangers fought to take the game back, and even brought it within one, but nothing they did would be enough to earn them two points.

First Period

The scoring got started early for the Rangers, with a great offensive zone possession that saw Ducks' players on the ice a little too long. The Rangers maintained possession of the puck and never gave Anaheim a good clearing opportunity. Matthew Robertson then blasted the puck past Anaheim goalie Lukas Dostal, who got a piece of it but was unable to keep it out. Robertson received a nice pass from Mika Zibanejad, and early on, the Blueshirts established a 1-0 lead.

Following the goal, both sides traded puck possession before play slowed down. New York's lead was short-lived as the Ducks answered back with a goal of their own. Young forward Mason McTavish tied the game up for the Ducks just after the halfway point of the period. With a loose puck in front of the net, Pavel Mintyukov passed the puck across the crease. Instead of finding one of his teammates, it found the end of Robertson's skate, which bounced perfectly to McTavish, who put the puck in the back of the net.

As the period wound down, it became evident that both teams weren't going down without a fight. The Rangers and Ducks traded puck control, neither one getting many scoring opportunities. They weren't making plays but weren't making costly mistakes either. The Ducks had a strong scoring chance in the final minutes of the period but failed to capitalize, and the game was tied at 1-1 as the teams went into the first-period intermission.

Second Period

The Blueshirts started off the period buzzing with some nice plays by Gabe Perreault and a nice shot from Artemi Panarin. However, the momentum died when Alexis Lafrenière was called for high sticking, which sent the Ducks to the game's first power play.

New York's penalty killers were tested but held strong before Will Cuylle drew a high-sticking call against the Ducks. Four-on-four play was set to ensue for 1:07 before the Rangers had a brief power play. Even with the extra space on the ice, the game remained tied.

On their first power play of the game, the Rangers nearly gave up a shorthanded goal. However, Martin came up with a save, and not long after, a rush for the Rangers on the other side developed. Vincent Trocheck made a nice play carrying the puck across the blue line before feeding Panarin, who made the game 2-1 in favor of the Blueshirts. Panarin added to his impressive season after having two goals in his previous game.

A few minutes later, Anaheim tied the game up again at two goals apiece. Similar to the Rangers' first goal, the Ducks stopped the Rangers from clearing the puck and got the best of some tired defenders. Jeffery Viel buried the puck on his first goal with the Ducks off the rebound from Ryan Poehling. New York's lead was short-lived as Anaheim sought their fourth consecutive win.

As action resumed, each side delivered some shots and hits but the score failed to change. During the action, Rangers' captain J.T. Miller came off to the bench seemingly in pain. Miller did return to play and did not miss a shift. Once again, both teams failed to make big plays but continued to work in an attempt to score.

However, the Rangers were starting to slip up. With 3:05 left in the second period, Cuylle got called for hooking and sent the Ducks to their second power play of the night. This time around, New York wouldn't get so lucky and gave up a power play goal to Alex Kilhorn. The goal gave the Ducks their first lead of the night, and they led by a score of 3-2. Jacob Trouba delivered a rocket of a shot from the blue line, and Kilhorn finished it off.

Not long after, the period ended, and the Ducks took a 3-2 lead into the locker room after a two-goal second period.

Third Period

The Ducks wasted no time extending their lead in the third period. One minute in, Anaheim unleashed on the Rangers before Cutter Gauthier scored off another failed clear attempt. Drew Helleson kept the puck in the zone, and Gauthier finished the play, making the score 4-2 in favor of the Ducks.

Following Gauthier's goal, New York couldn't get their offense going. With each second that passed, their hopes of winning grew smaller. At 14:26 Jackson LaCombe got a minor for holding, which sent the Rangers to their second power play of the night. The Rangers' power play remained strong as Vladislav Gavrikov cut the Anaheim lead to 4-3. Gavrikov took a far shot that made it through the traffic, and the Blueshirts were back in the game.

Right after the goal, a hit from Robertson sent the Ducks to their third power play, and they had a shot to extend their lead back to two. New York fought on the penalty kill to not have Gavrikov's goal erased. Luckily for the Rangers, they did just that. Martin made some huge saves, especially one on McTavish, but it remained a one-goal game.

The Rangers did whatever they could to tie the game up, but Dostal and the Ducks kept them out of the net. What wouldn't help was the Rangers going back to the power play after Brennan Othmann drew a penalty on Helleson. Unlike their first two opportunities, New York struggled. Luckily for the Rangers, with 22 seconds remaining on the power play, they drew another penalty, which gave them a brief two-man advantage.

Right away, the Rangers drove the puck to the net but didn't score on the five-on-three. On the ensuing one-man advantage, they struggled to enter the zone, and after scoring on their first two power plays, Anaheim penalty killers stepped up when it mattered most.

With about 90 seconds left, Martin skated to the crease and gave the Rangers the extra attacker. The Ducks iced the puck with exactly one minute remaining, and head coach Mike Sullivan used their timeout. 37 seconds after the timeout, Gauthier put the game away, putting the puck in the empty net for his second goal of the game making the final score 5-3.

The Blueshirts failed to make it consecutive wins after a dominant win in Philadelphia. Despite trailing for all of the third, the game never seemed out of reach, and with a healthy Igor Shesterkin or fresh Jonathan Quick in net, this game could very much have been a win. The Rangers' road trip continues tomorrow against the Los Angeles Kings, who will look to turn things around after losing four in a row.