Artemi Panarin took advantage of a Noah Dobson turnover early in overtime to give the New York Rangers a 6-5 victory over the New York Islanders in front of nearly 80,000 spectators at MetLife Stadium.
“I was flooded with emotions,” Panarin said. I had to hold back my tears. It was quite a spectacle. »
They completed the first three-goal comeback in the history of outdoor matches, against Patrick Roy’s squad, which has a 3-3-3 record since his arrival at the helm of the team on January 20.
“This one hurts,” summarized Brock Nelson after the defeat.
In a 100% New York duel at the home of the Jets and the New York Giants in the NFL, the two eternal rivals put on quite a show for the huge crowd gathered in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
“It’s about sticking to what you know,” Rangers captain Jacob Trouba said. The whole group supported each other and stuck to the goal, and we achieved the desired result. It’s quite a pleasant memory. »
Erik Gustafsson set the tone for the match by opening the scoring after only 88 seconds of play. The day before, Nico Hischier had also scored quickly in the outdoor meeting between the New Jersey Devils and the Philadelphia Flyers. The Devils captain put his team in control after 33 seconds.
The Islanders, however, responded by scoring four unanswered goals. Brock Nelson, Bo Horvat and Mathew Barzal first hit the target before the end of the first period, then Anders Lee gave his team a three-goal lead from the 63rd second of play in the middle period.
A double from Vincent Trocheck allowed the Rangers to come within a goal of the Islanders, but Alexander Romanov gave his team a two-goal lead with his fifth goal of the season. Dobson collected his third assist of the game on his teammate’s goal.
Trailing by two goals, the Blueshirts went all out by pulling their goalie with more than five minutes left in the game. Chris Kreider cut the lead to one goal by skillfully redirecting Panarin’s shot past Ilya Sorokin.
With 2:28 left in the game, Scott Mayfield opened the door for the Rangers by receiving a penalty for tripping Alexis Lafrenière. Playing six against four, the Rangers buzzed relentlessly around Sorokin’s net. Mika Zibanejad sent everyone into overtime with a stunning one-timer from the bottom of the left circle.
Panarin then played the hero by demonstrating all his talent. He intercepted a clearance from Dobson on the ground to get alone in front of Sorokin. His shot was blocked by Dobson, but the puck crossed the red line a few seconds later after contact between the defender, the goal and its goalie.
“To win the way we did, it was incredible,” shared Zibanejad. There is no better way to do it. »
The Rangers thus sign a seventh consecutive victory, the longest active streak in the NHL. Igor Shesterkin stopped 36 pucks in front of the Rangers cage, while his good friend Sorokin suffered defeat after giving in six times to the Blueshirts’ 38 shots.
Lafrenière had a good meeting with two assists. In his fifth outdoor match as head coach, Peter Laviolette scored his first victory.
21-year-old Rangers forward Matt Rempe became the first player in history to make his NHL debut in an outdoor game. The six-foot-seven giant was used for just 4:26, but he left his mark by dropping the gloves to Matt Martin early in the first.
The Rangers arrived at the stadium wearing jerseys in the colors of the New York City Police Department (NYPD) and Fire Department (FYPD).
2024-02-18 23:53:00
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