First Period:
- JJ Peterka (12) Assists: Jack Quinn (23), Tyson Jost (18)
Second Period:
- Artemi Panarin (27) (Power Play) Assists: Mika Zibanejad (51), Patrick Kane (36)
- Artemi Panarin (28) Assists: Vladimir Tarasenko (32)
Third Period:
Ad
- Casey Mittelstadt (13) Assists: Alex Tuch (40)
Overtime:
Shootout:
- Jack Quinn: Stopped
- Patrick Kane: Stopped
- Tage Thompson: Stopped
- Mika Zibanejad: Missed
- Alex Tuch: Stopped
- Artemi Panarin: Missed
- Owen Power: SCORES
- Vladimir Tarasenko: SCORES
- Casey Mittelstadt: SCORES
- Kaapo Kakko: Misses
Stats:
- Carolina lost to Ottawa and so had the Rangers been able to get that second point they would only be one point back of first place. If they win against Toronto and the Devils and Hurricanes both lose out in regulation then the Rangers could take second place and get home ice.
- Third place still seems more likely, but with the Hurricanes losing three in a row, it’s very much in play that the Devils could jump them and it would be Rangers/Carolina in round one.
- This game didn’t mean much to the Rangers and luckily Ryan Lindgren came back after blocking that shot off the side of his head late in OT. A win would have been nice, but ultimately, at this point, leaving the game healthy is more important.
- Artemi Panarin, to me, is the Ranger with the most pressure on him for the playoffs and the most to prove. They advanced last year with him struggling to find a consistent level and if they are going to advance again this year and/or go deeper, they are going to need him to both create and produce offensively and manage the puck well. He’s going into the playoffs shooting the puck and on a bit of a hot streak and that is encouraging, but they are going to need him to do it starting next week.
- Igor Shesterkin continues to look great and I wonder if he will go Thursday in the regular season finale or if Jaro Halak will get that game.
- One more to go, Thursday against the Leafs, before we get to what we’ve been waiting all season for: playoffs.