If you lept off the Rangers bandwagon earlier this season, convinced their long poor stretch was a bellwether of both a bad year and an ensuing dismantling, maybe no one would blame you. That’s how bad it seemed at times.
Now, however, you should be looking for a blue-hued seat on that bandwagon. The Rangers just might be back. So back.
We won’t know for sure until we see them in the grind of the NHL playoffs – notice the absence of the word “if” in this suggested playoffs scenario – but there was plenty of evidence Thursday night at Madison Square Garden as they pounded the Flyers, 6-1.
Igor Shesterkin was himself yet again and the Rangers got offense from some of the less-likely spots on the roster as they extended their points streak to 10 consecutive games (7-0-3). It’s the 14th time in franchise history they’ve had a streak that long.
Since Jan. 2, they have scored 43 goals. That’s the most in the NHL. Since Jan. 2, they’ve amassed 19 points, also the most in the NHL.
“Even in the tough moments which we had, I think we didn’t lose our heads, because we know what team we have, and we just didn’t forget to play hockey in a couple of months,” said Filip Chytil, who scored his 11th goal of the season to give the Rangers a 4-1 lead.
“Sometimes you have stretches like this in a season, and it’s just about the team, how you respond. And I think, for the last month, we’ve responded in a good way, and that’s why we’re winning these hard games.
“We have to keep going like this.”
“This” means contributions from everyone, more of the grit they’ve recently displayed and, of course, Shesterkin’s crease wizardry.
Shesterkin gave up a goal just 85 seconds into the game, wrecking his two-game shutout streak, but then allowed nothing else, including during a second period in which the Flyers fired 17 shots at him. Overall, he made 35 saves.
“He was fantastic,” Rangers coach Peter Laviolette said. “He’s been playing like that. He’s been right on point with his game.”
Shesterkin is 6-0-1 in his last seven starts. He’s allowed one score in his last three games.
“I don’t have to talk about him at all, because he’s just speaking with his performance on the ice,” Chytil quipped, referring to Shesterkin. “He’s unbelievable and we know he’s great, but also we’ve gotta help him, because he can’t just stand on his head and make all the saves. I think we’ve done that pretty well the last month and we have to build on that.
“And, still, it’s a lot of work ahead of us.”
The offense was huge and it didn’t all come from dazzling passing and big plays by big-name stars.
The Rangers fired shots on goal into traffic and got goals off nifty deflections, including Chytil’s and one by Adam Edstrom. Three Ranger defensemen scored goals – Braden Schneider, K’Andre Miller and Adam Fox. And all six defensemen had at least one point, the first time that’s happened since 2019. Reilly Smith added a late goal, too.
It was a huge win against another hot team, one that is lurking on the fringes of the Wild Card picture. Just like the Rangers.
It was the kind of Garden night that should make Ranger fans feel better about their favorite team, no matter how blue they were about the Blueshirts weeks ago. The players believe. Maybe you should, too.
“I think everybody in this room knew how good of a team we are, honestly,” Miller said. “I think the last couple of games have shown a lot of good things.
“And how good we can be.”
