Rangers Top Bluejackets 3-2 in OT
No matter what adversity the New York Rangers face, they somehow find a way to win in the end. After having their own goal disallowed end the waning seconds of the Second Period, Sunday evening at MSG, they watched Columbus superstar Rick Nash, furiously tie it in the final couple minutes of regulation. Nash the latest subject of trade rumors heading into the Trading Deadline, and rumored to be headed to the Big Apple, put on a little audition for the Garden Faithful. Instead of panicking at that moment, the Rangers were once again resilent, as the two teams skated off into the extra session. Just 22 seconds into overtime, Derek Stepan propelled the Blueshirts to victory by finishing off a perfect backhand pass from Michael Del Zotto. Del Zotto on the up-ice rush, initially faked a shot then incredibly found Stepan in an an open corner around the left side of the net, who wasted no time buried the game winner. “Our team has had a pretty good maturity level all year long, being able to bounce back in tough situations. It was a good test for us, to see if we would bounce back, and I think we did a great job”, said Stepan. The Rangers were able to shake off their 4-2 beating by the Chicago Blackhawks Thursday night, were everything wrong unraveled from the start. They also avoided their first losing streak of back-to-back games since Dec 13, 15.
When Rick Nash found a way to tie it late with 1:32 left in regulation, the Garden Faithful responded with chants of “We Don’t Want You” much to his delight. “It’s the kind of reaction you would expect in any building when you score the tying goal. We’re trying to win games. That’s the bottom line, I’m going to do everything I can to help our team win”, noted Nash on the possibility of becoming a New York Ranger. Artem Anisimov continued his surging season by netting the go-ahead goal in the Second Period for the Rangers (38-14-5), who improved to 9-2-1 in their last 12 games, and increased their Eastern Conference lead over Boston to 9 points. “One of those things, 99 out of 100 times the puck will bounce on the boards, noted Mason who stood flat on his stomach as Anisimov stuffed it home on a fortuitous bounce from a blaster by Dan Girardi. “This rink, the glass is a little bit different. A relieved John Tortorella who expressed his dissatisfaction on the disallowed goal at the end of the Second Period was in a more joyful manner, “We handled ourselves well, I don’t think there was any panic. And we make a hell of a play in overtime to score the winner.”
The BlueJackets continued their dismal season, coming off a 6-1 loss at home to the Chicago Blackhawks, appear to be in their own rebuilding mode as they approach the trading deadline. There is much speculation out there that captain Rick Nash won’t be part of it. They currently sit at the bottom of the NHL standings with 41 points. Amongst the bright spots for Columbus were goaltender Steve Mason, who notched 32 saves, and forward Derrick Brassard, who netted his 11th goal for Columbus (17-35-7). “They were all over us right from the start. We played last night, and they were working hard. I think they are one of the best teams we’ve played against”, noted Brassard. Brad Richards also contributed to the Rangers scoring with his 18th. Henrik Lundqvist was back in net, after a night off against Chicago, which completely frustrated Martin Biron all night, the King netted 21 saves in the win.
