The resilient Rangers march on.
Clawing their way out of a two-goal hole they fell into after the first period, the Rangers stormed back with five unanswered goals through the final two frames to secure a telling 6-3 victory over the Maple Leafs Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden.
The win was the Rangers’ third in a row as they prepare for the ultimate litmus test in the Hurricanes on Friday.
Resiliency has been a trademark of this Rangers team in recent weeks, having just emerged relatively unscathed from their first notable COVID-19 outbreak that sidelined several players game-to-game. And with Wednesday’s matchup tied 3-3 entering the third period, the Rangers tapped into their new-found resilient nature, buckled down and played to win.
“It shows that we can hang with the big boys — that we are one of the big boys,” said Ryan Reaves, who scored his first and second goal as a Ranger in the win. “We’ve got to keep beating the playoff teams, it’s something we’ve talked about. But I think we’re proving to the league, we’re proving to ourselves that we’re a contender.’’
The Rangers fed off the contributions of the fourth line in Reaves, Kevin Rooney and Greg McKegg, who helped the team rediscover its forecheck and expose some weak points in the Maple Leafs’ structure after falling behind 3-1 in an ugly first period.
Reaves recorded the Rangers’ first two goals of the game and the rest of the team was seemingly invigorated by it. After the veteran winger chipped the puck over Toronto goalie Jack Campbell to cut his team’s deficit to 3-2 at 2:58 of the second, the Rangers took a hold on the game.
With just over two minutes left in the second, a stellar passing sequence ended with defenseman Adam Fox knotting the game 3-3. Fox ultimately capped the Rangers’ scoring with an empty-net goal to lead the team with two tallies and an assist for a three-point effort.
Ryan Strome pulled the Rangers ahead at 10:50, burying a feed from Ryan Lindgren for the 4-3 lead. Less than five minutes later, Chris Kreider netted his 25th goal of the season to put the game out of reach.
“I was a little worried, to be honest with you,” head coach Gerard Gallant said after the win, which improved the Rangers to 26-10-4. “We came out a little sleepy, obviously. Just seems that when you get back from those road trips, for whatever reason, the first period is tough, it was a tough one.”
Auston Matthews nearly scored toward the end of the third period to tie the NHL’s consecutive goal-scoring record in road games, but referees ruled he kicked it in and overturned the goal.
The Rangers, sitting at the top of the Metropolitan Division, now head to Carolina to face the very team they’ve been wrestling with for first place. March on they do.
“I think we know [we can hang with the top teams],” Reaves said. “I think maybe some of the league doesn’t believe it, but let them keep [not] believing it. We’re gonna keep doing our thing and, I mean, the standings don’t lie.”
