The game certainly was not how the New York Rangers drew it up on paper. Seven goals total between the two teams in the third period. Repeated leads were blown as the Philadelphia Flyers refused to go away. Yet, at the end of the day, all that mattered was the final score, which was 6-5 Rangers in overtime.
With the win, the Rangers became the first team to clinch a playoff berth. In addition, Peter Laviolette notched victory #800 in his career. Laviolette became the seventh coach in NHL history to hit that mark. For New York, the hot stretch continues.
The New York Rangers started 18-4-1, hit a major lull for about six weeks, and since January 27 are 19-4-1. They sit 48-20-4 with 10 games left and control their own divisional and conference destiny, see below for more.
The theme for a good part of the season has been the next man up and a new hero nightly. Tuesday, in terms of next man up, with Jacob Trouba, Ryan Lindgren, and Erik Gustafsson out with injuries, Brandon Scanlin played in his first NHL game on defense. Zac Jones has shown he can be an effective blueliner while Chad Ruhwedel proved to be a smart trade deadline acquisition.
A New Hero Nightly
Tuesday, more than one hero came to the forefront. Adam Fox netted the overtime game-winner and added an assist, giving him 23 points in his last 19 games. Artemi Panarin notched three assists to become the seventh Ranger to hit the century mark in points and the first since Jaromir Jagr in 2005-06. He should finish second behind Jagr in most points in a season.
Alexis Lafreniere tallied two goals to give him 22 on the year and now sits just three points shy of 50 for the season. Vincent Trocheck notched a short-handed goal and added two helpers, moving him to 72 points in 72 games, just three points shy of tying his career-high set in 2017-18 while a member of the Panthers.
Mika Zibanejad had a power-play goal and a sublime shorthanded assist on Trocheck’s tally. Jonny Brodzinski, who was to be a healthy scratch, stepped into the lineup when Alex Wennberg was scratched and had a big goal.
The New York Rangers sit at 100 points with 10 games remaining. With the Carolina Hurricanes losing to Pittsburgh on Tuesday, they remain at 97 points with nine contests left. The Boston Bruins beat the Florida Panthers on Tuesday before losing to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Wednesday night.
Boston remains at 99 points with only eight games on their docket. The Panthers are at 97 points with 72 games played. New York is on the road for the next two games to face Colorado and Arizona before playing six of their eight April contests at MSG with one of the two road games at UBS Arena, which is almost like a home game.
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