The New York Rangers’ week was looking great until the games started. They had the misfortune of going up against a playoff contender, a team trying to get to the playoffs, and a team at the bottom of the division. They were able to grab four points.
The Rangers are still chasing the playoffs, and they’re not out of it yet. They will need to keep racking up those points, and teams ahead of them need to lose some games if they are to sneak into the postseason.
New York Rangers @ New York Islanders
Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum
April 20, 2021
The Rangers were coming off a four-game sweep of the New Jersey Devils, hoping to make it five in a row. However, the New York Islanders kicked that idea to the curb. They laid down a beating on the Blueshirts, coming out on top 6-1. The Rangers fell behind early 3-0 and never recovered and came out looking like they didn’t know how to manage the puck. Midway through the first, Jacob Trouba was hit by Matt Martin. Trouba stumbled as he got up only to fall back to the ice and was helped off the ice and to the dressing room.
A goal by Kevin Rooney appeared to be the Rangers battling back in the second, trying to change the game’s momentum. However, it was not meant to be. In the third period, the Islanders kept control of the game, and the Rangers seemed never to get back in… if they were ever in, to begin with.
1st Period
17:42 NYI: Josh Bailey, Jean-Gabriel Pageau, Anthony Beauvillier
2nd Period
01:38 NYI: Brock Nelson, Nick Leddy, Kyle Palmieri
05:45 NYI: Beauvillier, Noah Dobson, Jordan Eberle
11:04 NYR: Rooney, Brendan Smith, Vitali Kravtsov
3rd Period
07:44 NYI: Pageau, Beauvillier, Bailey
10:16 NYI: Bailey, Beauvillier, Andy Greene
11:22 NYI: Eberle, Travis Zajac
New York Rangers vs. Philadelphia Flyers
Madison Square Garden
April 22, 2021
The game started on a great note. With Trouba still out with an injury, Zachary Jones made his NHL debut. The Rangers started strong with a goal from Smith in the first and held the Flyers scoreless. As with the game against the Islanders, New York was still having issues with puck management. Philadelphia was able to even the score on a power play with less than five minutes left in the second period. James van Riemsdyk was credited with the goal, but Travis Konecny’s shot deflected off Rangers defenseman K’Andre Miller and then off van Riemsdyk’s face, sliding past Igor Shesterkin.
The second period would find the Flyers taking advantage of another New York penalty, putting them ahead 2-1. Rangers fans would get the opportunity to see Shesterkin face a penalty shot with less than a minute to play in the period. Libor Hajek was called for interference on a breakaway, which allowed Joel Farabee an attempt to give the Flyers a lead. Shesterkin was able to keep the puck out of the net, keeping it a tie game at 1-1.
In the third, the Philadelphia took a 2-1 lead with a power-play goal, and less than four minutes later, put another one in the net. The Rangers attempted to make a comeback with two minutes left in the game on a goal by Artemi Panarin, but the push wasn’t hard enough despite having pulled the goalie to have six on the ice. They were unable to tie, and the Flyers went on to win 3-2.
1st Period
09:55 NYR: Smith, Miller, Filip Chytil
2nd Period
15:56 PHI: van Riemsdyk, Konecny, Ivan Provorov
3rd Period
10:29 PHI: van Riemsdyk, Ivan Provorov, Kevin Hayes
14:07 PHI Jakub Voracek, Sean Couturier, Shayne Gostisbehere
18:00 NYR Panarin, Adam Fox, Mika Zibanejad
New York Rangers vs. Philadelphia Flyers
Madison Square Garden
April 23, 2021
A mere 24 hours after falling in defeat to the Flyers, they faced them again at home. It’s a game they needed to win if they wanted to continue to keep their playoff hopes alive. Their longanimity would need to shine through if they were going to grab hold of a victory. The Rangers started off taking advantage of a Flyers penalty, and Chris Kreider made it 1-0. Oskar Lindblom would tie it up for the Flyers 45 seconds later. Pavel Buchnevich put the Rangers back up with a goal for a 2-1 lead.
The second period seemed to be nothing to write home about for either side. A little over midway through, Rooney had fisticuffs with Scott Laughton, with both getting a five-minute major for fighting. A few minutes later and two more penalties by the Blueshirts gave the Broad Street Bullies a 5-on-3 power play, which they were unable to capitalize on… much to the Rangers’ relief.
It took almost midway into the third before New York went up again to a more comfortable 3-1 lead on a goal by Alexis Lafreniere. Eventually, the Flyers did score to make it 3-2, but goaltender interference was called on van Riemsdyk, and the Rangers kept their 3-1 lead. Chytil put the final nail in Philly’s coffin to make it a 4-1 victory the Rangers desperately needed.
1st Period
06:02 NYR: Kreider, Panarin, Fox
06:47 PHI: Lindblom, Voracek, Couturier
07:56 NYR: Buchnevich, Zibanejad, Lafreniere
2nd Period
No goals.
3rd Period
09:24 NYR: Lafreniere, Buchnevich, Zibanejad
13:40 NYR: Chytil, Kaapo Kakko, Panarin
New York Rangers vs. Buffalo Sabres
Madison Square Garden
April 25, 2021
The Rangers kept the playoffs in their sights with the 6-3 victory over the Sabres. Zibanejad was able to pick up his third hat trick of the season; the other two were against the Flyers. He kicked off the scoring for the Blueshirts almost five minutes in, getting the puck past Dustin Tokarski. The Sabres tied it up less than two minutes later on Jeff Skinner‘s goal. New York was able to wear Buffalo down eventually, and after an extended shift, Kakko was able to get one in the net to put the Rangers back up 2-1. Near the end of the first, the they found themselves with a power play, and Zibanejad was able to knock it in to make it a 3-1 game.
It didn’t take long in the second period for Zibanejad to put it in the net again to get his hat trick. It is the seventh hat trick of his career, and it put the Rangers up 4-1. A few minutes later, Victor Olofsson was able to take advantage of a Rangers penalty, and with a long shift by New York he cut the lead to two goals.
Kakko put the Blueshirts up 5-2 seven minutes into the third, effectively putting a damper on the Sabres’ hope of a comeback. The goal gave the Rangers their three-goal lead back and gave Jones his first career NHL point. Reinhart responded for Buffalo with a goal, making it a two-goal game again. The final nail for the Sabres was the empty-net goal by Rooney, making it a 6-3 victory for New York.
1st Period
04:49 NYR: Zibanejad, Lafreniere, Ryan Lindgren
06:16 BUF: Skinner, Colin Miller, Jacob Bryson
12:02 NYR: Kakko, Fox, Chytil
17:10 NYR: Zibanejad, Panarin, Fox
2nd Period
02:05 NYR: Zibanejad, Buchnevich, Fox
14:47 BUF: Olofsson, Sam Reinhart, Casey Mittelstadt
3rd Period
07:06 NYR: Kakko, Buchnevich, Jones
10:34 BUF: Reinhart, Rasmus Dahlin,Tokarski
19:05 NYR: Rooney, Brett Howden
What’s Next for the Rangers?
With the playoffs still on the table for them, the Rangers will host the Sabres again at home on April 27. They will then face the Islanders again for a game at home on April 29 and then go on the road, traveling to face them again on May 1.
The puck drops for Tuesday’s game against Buffalo from Madison Square Garden at 7 p.m. EDT.
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