First Period:
- Alexis Lafreniere (13) Assists: Adam Fox (44)
Second Period:
- Ryan Strome (12) Assists: Jacob Trouba (17), Artemi Panarin (43)
- Ryan O’Reilly (12) Assists: David Perron (17), Brandon Saad (13)
- Ivan Barbashev (17) Assists: Jordan Kyrou (29)
- David Perron (12) Assists: Ryan O’Reilly (23), Colton Parayko (16)
Third Period:
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- Patrik Nemeth (1) Assists: Ryan Strome (27), Dryden Hunt (7)
- Chris Kreider (35) (Power Play) Assists: Adam Fox (45), Artemi Panarin (44)
- Artemi Panarin (15) Assists: Adam Fox (46)
Three Stars:
- 3: Adam Fox
- 2: Artemi Panarin
- 1: Chris Kreider
Stats:
Kevin Rooney left the game after the first period.
Adam Rotter:
- This is a strange game to classify. I thought that overall it was a pretty even game, shots on goal were close, hits were close, but the Rangers blocked nearly 4x as many shots as St. Louis. It seemed like it was going to be a game that the Rangers won 2-1 or 3-1, but then in a span of two minutes the Blues scored thrice and all the sudden the Rangers went into the third down a goal.
- They got a nice break on the tying goal with Huuso sprawling out of the net and then it seemed like a lock that their PP was going to score and Chris Kreider, as he has done all season, got the winner.
- Igor Shesterkin was really good, despite that two-minute stretch, but the blocked shots were probably the key to this one. The Rangers gave up a ton of quality shots, a bunch to Pavel Buchnevich, but Shesterkin was mostly good and the rest of the team threw their bodies in front of pucks.
- Seeing Pavel Buchnevich is a reminder that he is what the Rangers are missing, but there was no way to keep him long-term. Hopefully, Sammy Blais can have an impact next season, but the guy that replaced Buchnevich on that line scored again, tonight. You can see the confidence coming with Alexis Lafreniere as he, game by game, starts to resemble the player the Rangers expected to get at #1 overall.
- The losing streak ends and the Rangers do beat a very good St. Louis team with some timely goals, blocked shots, and Igor Shesterkin. I hope they don’t just look at the win as a whole and move past all the chances St. Louis had and especially those two minutes to end the second, but it is an important two points. Do they rely too much on their goalie and PP? Yes, but it is a style that has worked for them thus far. Will it work going forward? TBD as the Rangers only had one PP chance tonight and at some point there may be a fatigue concern with Shesterkin as he plays more than he ever has in his career, has to make countless big saves and carry the team. The Rangers would be wise to round out their game, limit the chances against, have the puck more and score at 5 on 5 so they don’t need to rely on Shesterkin and the PP, but for right now it’s working.
- Next up is the Devils at MSG and then a four-game road trip that sends them to Winnipeg, Minnesota, a rematch with St. Louis, and then Dallas.