Geoff Burke-Imagn Images
In a season filled with scoring woes, the New York Rangers flipped the switch on Tuesday night, scoring five goals in the third period against the Washington Capitals, en route to a 7-3 win.
Going into this matchup, the Rangers were coming off a 2-1 loss to the Nashville Predators, where the team displayed a lack of pride, as Vincent Trocheck described it.
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The first 20 minutes of play were relatively even with the Capitals holding a 6-5 edge in shots on net, but it was Taylor Raddysh who scored the only goal, which was his first goal since Oct. 30.
“It’s always in the back of your mind,” Raddysh said of his scoring drought. “You want to contribute as much as you can, whether it’s offensively or defensively. For me, it has obviously been a few games since I scored my last one, so to get one there and right here before the break, just to kind of relax and get ready to go for the second half.”
In the second period, the Capitals provided some pushback and put the Blueshirts on their heels.
With the score tied 1-1, Igor Shesterkin robbed Dylan Strome with an improbable glove save. However, after replay review, it was determined that Shesterkin’s glove was across the red line, so it was called a goal in what was a bizarre sequence.
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“Yeah that was pretty insane to even think he had a chance of making that save,” Raddysh said. “That’s the only thing that sucks about cameras. You can’t really hide from anything. That one, I guess, just crossed the line, but it was a heck of a save by him.”
During the middle frame, New York struggled to generate offense and was outplayed by the Capitals, who had a 15-5 edge in shots while dominating time of possession.
If the Rangers were going to rally back in the nation’s capital, they would have to show pride and learn from their blunder in Nashville just two nights before.
The Rangers truly put on a scoring barrage on display in the third period with the team scoring five unanswered goals from Raddysh, Alexis Lafrenière, Artemi Panarin, and two from Trocheck, including one empty-net goal.
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It felt like the floodgates broke wide open for the Rangers. As the goals continued to pile up, the Rangers began to play more loosely and with a newfound sense of confidence.
It’s been a long and grueling stretch for the Rangers. They’ve played four games, and on top of it all, injuries and a highly contagious case of the flu have plagued this team.
The Rangers showed their character in an identity defining period. Now it’s about maintaining this momentum and finding an element of consistency to their game moving forward.
“I was happy for the players,” Mike Sullivan said. “They’ve worked so hard to try to generate more offense. It’s nice to see the puck in the net for them. I thought we responded really well in the third obviously, just scored as many goals as we did…
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“I was happy for our guys and proud of our guys for how we competed and just hung in there. I’m real happy for the players. I know that we’ve played a lot of hockey. We’ve dealt with whether it’s illnesses or injuries, whatever it may be. These guys don’t look for excuses. They’re just trying to find ways to win every night. I’m happy for them that they were able to score some goals tonight.”
The Rangers will be back in action on Saturday night against the New York Islanders.
