A year ago last December the Rangers came out to Western Canada and
swept their three-game road trip, winning in Vancouver, Edmonton and
Calgary. This week the exact opposite took place as the Rangers lost all
three of their games on the same trip, which ended with a 5-4 overtime
defeat at the hands of the Calgary Flames Saturday night at the
Scotiabank Saddledome. New York had lost 2-1 in Vancouver this
past Wednesday and 7-5 in ugly fashion Friday night in Edmonton. The
Rangers now have just one win in their last six road contests (1-3-2),
and they are 2-6-2 in their last ten games overall. They gained a point
in this one thanks to a three-goal third period, capped by a late Mats
Zuccarello equalizer that wiped out a 4-1 deficit earlier in the final
period.
The Flames extended their winning streak to five straight games on Saturday, and they have also won nine in a row on home ice.
Playing a much more safe and dependable defensive game for most of the first two periods of play--once goaltender Antti Raanta had bailed them out with four quality saves in the game's opening two minutes--the Rangers saw their 1-0 lead turn into a 2-1 deficit in a head-spinning span of 17 seconds late in the second period.
It was a shocking turn of events. First Keith Yandle passed the puck into the middle of the ice on an attempted clear, instead putting the puck right on the stick of Calgary's leading scorer Johnny Gaudreau. In a flash Gaudreau blasted a slap shot past Raanta at 17:41 of the second and the game was tied.
Then on the next shift Dan Girardi's cross ice pass at the Rangers blue line was picked off by Calgary's Michael Frolik, leading to a 2 on 1 the other way. Frolik made a perfect pass to Mason Raymond, who buried it into the back of the cage at 17:58.
It was a sequence that could have easily been mistaken for ones that took place during Friday's sloppy 7-5 loss in Edmonton just 24 hours prior, though it was still stunning because New York had played a sturdy defensive game to that point on Saturday.
Raanta was hardly to blame on either goal; and it was his sharp play in the opening minutes of the game that provided the Rangers the chance to score first on Saturday. Raanta made a huge sprawling save with his pads just 33 seconds into play after Calgary's Matt Stajan somehow had slipped behind the Rangers defense. Then just before the two-minute mark Raanta made three save sin succession--the first on a deflected slap shot and the next two on in-tight rebounds--to keep the game scoreless.
The Rangers settled down, allowed only five shots the rest of the period and exited into the first intermission with a 1-0 lead thanks to J.T. Miller's fifth goal of the season. Viktor Stalberg, back in the lineup after being scratched the night before, flew up right wing with the puck, causing separation between him and the defense, and then dished to his left where Miller potted the goal at 10:56, his first goal and point in eight games.
Calgary goalie Jonas Hiller, who has been battling the flu for the past several days, made two big saves to keep the Rangers lead at 1-0 before the quick two-goal explosion by his team late in the second. He stoned Oscar Lindberg on a power play one-timer from the slot at the eight-minute mark of period number two and then denied a Kevin Hayes nifty backhand shot off another pretty Stalberg pass five minutes later.
The Flames poured in another pair early in the third to grab a 4-1 lead. Gaudreau scored his second goal of the night and 12th of the season, on a breakaway, at 2:32 and Joe Colborne roofed one from in close at 4:57.
Tanner Glass took advantage of a Hiller giveaway and scored his first goal of the season just 29 seconds after Colborne's goal to bring New York back to within 4-2. Then with 4:54 remaining in regulation Dan Boyle slipped an in-close backhand past Hiller and the Rangers were down by one.
The Rangers were handed a pair of power plays in the final four minutes of regulation, and they finally cashed in on the second one, tying the game, 4-4, on a Zuccarello goal with 1:12 remaining.
With Raanta on the bench for a sixth attacker, Derick Brassard won an offensive zone face off and Boyle slid the puck to Zuccarello on left wing. Zuccarello zipped a shot through a Chris Kreider screen and into the net for his team-high 13th goal, and the Rangers somehow had managed to tie this game and force overtime.
FINAL STATS
NYR 4 CGY 5 OT
Scoring Summary
1st Period
10:56 NYR J.T. Miller (5) Tip-in - ASST: Viktor Stalberg (5), Kevin Hayes (10) 1 - 0 NYR
2nd Period
17:41 CGY Johnny Gaudreau (11) Wrist shot - ASST: NONE 1 - 1 Tie
17:58 CGY Mason Raymond (2) Snap shot - ASST: Michael Frolik (9) 2 - 1 CGY
3rd Period
02:32 CGY Johnny Gaudreau (12) Wrist shot - ASST: David Jones (4), Sean Monahan (13) 3 - 1 CGY
04:57 CGY Joe Colborne (4) Wrist shot - ASST: Matt Stajan (4), Kris Russell (6) 4 - 1 CGY
05:13 NYR Tanner Glass (1) Wrist shot - ASST: Dominic Moore (2) 4 - 2 CGY
15:06 NYR Dan Boyle (2) Backhand shot - ASST: Chris Kreider (10), J.T. Miller (9) 4 - 3 CGY
18:48 NYR PPG - Mats Zuccarello (13) Wrist shot - ASST: Dan Boyle (7), Derick Brassard (12) 4 - 4 Tie
OT Period
02:09 CGY TJ Brodie (3) Wrist shot - ASST: Kris Russell (7), Johnny Gaudreau (19) 5 - 4 CGY
Penalty Summary
1st Period
03:54 NYR Mats Zuccarello Interference - 2 min against Mark Giordano
2nd Period
00:30 NYR Chris Kreider Tripping - 2 min against Johnny Gaudreau
01:02 CGY Sean Monahan Holding - 2 min against Ryan McDonagh
04:33 NYR Oscar Lindberg Interference - 2 min against Markus Granlund
09:43 CGY David Jones Hooking - 2 min against Rick Nash
19:29 CGY Micheal Ferland Hi-sticking - 2 min against Dan Girardi
3rd Period
16:14 CGY Sean Monahan Hooking - 2 min against Rick Nash
18:15 CGY Markus Granlund Hi-sticking - 2 min against Mats Zuccarello
OT Period
NONE
shots by period
Period NYR CGY
1st 9 9
2nd 5 10
3rd 15 6
OT 0 2
Total 29 27
Team Stats
Category NYR CGY
Power Plays 1/5 0/3
Hits 9 6
Faceoff Wins 29 27
Giveaways 7 11
Takeaways 4 6
Blocked Shots 12 19
Penalty Minutes 6 10
NEXT GAME: Tuesday 12/15 Edmonton Oilers @ NY Rangers. 7:00 PM Game Time
The Flames extended their winning streak to five straight games on Saturday, and they have also won nine in a row on home ice.
Playing a much more safe and dependable defensive game for most of the first two periods of play--once goaltender Antti Raanta had bailed them out with four quality saves in the game's opening two minutes--the Rangers saw their 1-0 lead turn into a 2-1 deficit in a head-spinning span of 17 seconds late in the second period.
It was a shocking turn of events. First Keith Yandle passed the puck into the middle of the ice on an attempted clear, instead putting the puck right on the stick of Calgary's leading scorer Johnny Gaudreau. In a flash Gaudreau blasted a slap shot past Raanta at 17:41 of the second and the game was tied.
Then on the next shift Dan Girardi's cross ice pass at the Rangers blue line was picked off by Calgary's Michael Frolik, leading to a 2 on 1 the other way. Frolik made a perfect pass to Mason Raymond, who buried it into the back of the cage at 17:58.
It was a sequence that could have easily been mistaken for ones that took place during Friday's sloppy 7-5 loss in Edmonton just 24 hours prior, though it was still stunning because New York had played a sturdy defensive game to that point on Saturday.
Raanta was hardly to blame on either goal; and it was his sharp play in the opening minutes of the game that provided the Rangers the chance to score first on Saturday. Raanta made a huge sprawling save with his pads just 33 seconds into play after Calgary's Matt Stajan somehow had slipped behind the Rangers defense. Then just before the two-minute mark Raanta made three save sin succession--the first on a deflected slap shot and the next two on in-tight rebounds--to keep the game scoreless.
The Rangers settled down, allowed only five shots the rest of the period and exited into the first intermission with a 1-0 lead thanks to J.T. Miller's fifth goal of the season. Viktor Stalberg, back in the lineup after being scratched the night before, flew up right wing with the puck, causing separation between him and the defense, and then dished to his left where Miller potted the goal at 10:56, his first goal and point in eight games.
Calgary goalie Jonas Hiller, who has been battling the flu for the past several days, made two big saves to keep the Rangers lead at 1-0 before the quick two-goal explosion by his team late in the second. He stoned Oscar Lindberg on a power play one-timer from the slot at the eight-minute mark of period number two and then denied a Kevin Hayes nifty backhand shot off another pretty Stalberg pass five minutes later.
The Flames poured in another pair early in the third to grab a 4-1 lead. Gaudreau scored his second goal of the night and 12th of the season, on a breakaway, at 2:32 and Joe Colborne roofed one from in close at 4:57.
Tanner Glass took advantage of a Hiller giveaway and scored his first goal of the season just 29 seconds after Colborne's goal to bring New York back to within 4-2. Then with 4:54 remaining in regulation Dan Boyle slipped an in-close backhand past Hiller and the Rangers were down by one.
The Rangers were handed a pair of power plays in the final four minutes of regulation, and they finally cashed in on the second one, tying the game, 4-4, on a Zuccarello goal with 1:12 remaining.
With Raanta on the bench for a sixth attacker, Derick Brassard won an offensive zone face off and Boyle slid the puck to Zuccarello on left wing. Zuccarello zipped a shot through a Chris Kreider screen and into the net for his team-high 13th goal, and the Rangers somehow had managed to tie this game and force overtime.
NYR 4 CGY 5 OT
Scoring Summary
1st Period
10:56 NYR J.T. Miller (5) Tip-in - ASST: Viktor Stalberg (5), Kevin Hayes (10) 1 - 0 NYR
2nd Period
17:41 CGY Johnny Gaudreau (11) Wrist shot - ASST: NONE 1 - 1 Tie
17:58 CGY Mason Raymond (2) Snap shot - ASST: Michael Frolik (9) 2 - 1 CGY
3rd Period
02:32 CGY Johnny Gaudreau (12) Wrist shot - ASST: David Jones (4), Sean Monahan (13) 3 - 1 CGY
04:57 CGY Joe Colborne (4) Wrist shot - ASST: Matt Stajan (4), Kris Russell (6) 4 - 1 CGY
05:13 NYR Tanner Glass (1) Wrist shot - ASST: Dominic Moore (2) 4 - 2 CGY
15:06 NYR Dan Boyle (2) Backhand shot - ASST: Chris Kreider (10), J.T. Miller (9) 4 - 3 CGY
18:48 NYR PPG - Mats Zuccarello (13) Wrist shot - ASST: Dan Boyle (7), Derick Brassard (12) 4 - 4 Tie
OT Period
02:09 CGY TJ Brodie (3) Wrist shot - ASST: Kris Russell (7), Johnny Gaudreau (19) 5 - 4 CGY
Penalty Summary
1st Period
03:54 NYR Mats Zuccarello Interference - 2 min against Mark Giordano
2nd Period
00:30 NYR Chris Kreider Tripping - 2 min against Johnny Gaudreau
01:02 CGY Sean Monahan Holding - 2 min against Ryan McDonagh
04:33 NYR Oscar Lindberg Interference - 2 min against Markus Granlund
09:43 CGY David Jones Hooking - 2 min against Rick Nash
19:29 CGY Micheal Ferland Hi-sticking - 2 min against Dan Girardi
3rd Period
16:14 CGY Sean Monahan Hooking - 2 min against Rick Nash
18:15 CGY Markus Granlund Hi-sticking - 2 min against Mats Zuccarello
OT Period
NONE
shots by period
Period NYR CGY
1st 9 9
2nd 5 10
3rd 15 6
OT 0 2
Total 29 27
Team Stats
Category NYR CGY
Power Plays 1/5 0/3
Hits 9 6
Faceoff Wins 29 27
Giveaways 7 11
Takeaways 4 6
Blocked Shots 12 19
Penalty Minutes 6 10
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