ANAHEIM, Calif. – The New York Rangers didn’t sign Jarred Tinordi to score goals.
But the 6-6, 232-pound defenseman, playing Saturday night for the first time since Nov. 21, scored a huge one in the third period against the Anaheim Ducks, breaking a tie and helping the Rangers beat the Ducks, 4-1, in the Honda Center, to even their record on the five-game road trip to 1-1.
Tinordi, who has spent time in AHL Hartford on a conditioning stint and battled COVID-19, was playing in only his sixth game of the season. He went into the game with a pretty basic mindset: Do whatever the team needs of him.
"I just keep it simple,’’ Tinordi had said at the morning skate when asked how it would be for him to play his first game in a month and a half. "When you haven't been in in a while, I think it's just a mindset, really. I mean, these (trainers) do a great job. My body's ready to go. It’s really just a mindset to keep it simple (and) do what you can to help the team.’’
On Saturday, that meant scoring his first goal as a Ranger and his second NHL goal in 108 games. He got it by flinging a shot from the left point that looked like it deflected off something and got by Anaheim goalie Anthony Stolarz at 1:46 of the third, breaking a 1-1 tie. Defenseman Ryan Lindgren added two insurance goals — the first at 10:02 right after a Rangers power play expired to make it 3-1, and the second an empty-net goal.
The Rangers (23-9-4) were playing without Artemi Panarin, their leading scorer, for the fourth straight game as he remained in COVID-19 protocol. With Ryan Reaves joining Panarin, goalie Igor Shesterkin and forward Julien Gauthier in protocol, coach Gerard Gallant was forced to dress three forwards who were called up from Hartford last month. Tim Gettinger, Morgan Barron and Jonny Brodzinski all dressed and played together as the fourth line. Barron got an assist on the Lindgren goal, the first of his NHL career.
"It's part of the game,’’ Gallant said of all the lineup changes. "I mean, we'd love to have our full lineup, (but it’s) not going to happen. So they'll come up here, they'll get a chance to play… it's an opportunity for them to take it and play real well and do the best they can.’’
The Ducks were having their own COVID-19 issues, though. Anaheim had had its game Thursday against Detroit postponed until Sunday because of all the players they had in protocol, and on Saturday they had four players still in protocol, including No. 1 goaltender John Gibson. Ducks captain Ryan Getzlaf cleared protocol but did not dress for the game because he hadn’t had a chance to practice with the team beforehand.
The Rangers had the better of play in a scoreless first period, outshooting Anaheim 12-7, but they failed to score on a double-minor power play they were given after Trevor Zegras was sent off for a high stick that cut Barron.
Anaheim opened the scoring at 11:08 of the second. K’Andre Miller whiffed on an attempt to pass the puck from down by the goal line and Anaheim’s Troy Terry took the puck and passed to Isac Lundestrom, who banged it in past Alexandar Georgiev.
But the Rangers evened the score on a goal by Mika Zibanejad that was created by some good work by Kaapo Kakko. Kakko tried to tip a shot by Jacob Trouba, then retrieved the puck behind the net and passed to Zibanejad near the left wing goalpost. Zibanejad, from a bad angle, misfired on his shot, but the puck deflected off the stick of Anaheim forward Max Comtois and got behind goalie Stolarz at 14:00. It was Zibanejad’s 12th goal of the season, and his fourth in the last four games.
