DETROIT – The Rangers have had a problem holding onto big leads lately. So they tried something different on Thursday. They fell behind by a goal and then used a goal barrage to grab a win.
Tied entering the third period, the Rangers got five goals in the final 20 minutes to pull away from the Red Wings and open their two-game Father’s Weekend road trip with an 8-2 win over Detroit in Little Caesars Arena. The trip continues Saturday in Nashville against the Predators.
Adam Fox, Barclay Goodrow, Mika Zibanejad, Julien Gauthier, Libor Hajek and Jimmy Vesey broke the game open and ended the Rangers’ three-game winless streak. The eight goals were a season-high for the Rangers.
For Zibanejad, who was playing in his 700th NHL game, his third-period goal was his second of the game, and his second of the season in five-on-five situations. Vesey’s goal came while the Rangers were shorthanded.
The Rangers’ defense got a boost from the return of defenseman Ryan Lindgren, who had missed two games with an upper-body injury, and Gauthier, who had missed the last game against the Islanders, also with an upper-body injury.
And coach Gerard Gallant’s decision to reunite his most dynamic line from last spring’s playoffs, the Kid Line of Alexis Lafrenière, Filip Chytil and Kaapo Kakko, paid off, as that line drew two penalties early in the game. Lafrenière and Chytil each had two assists in the third period. Fox and Goodrow also had two assists, each finishing with three points.
After they lost to the Islanders on Tuesday, Fox said the Rangers “can't … rest on last year and say 'Oh, we did that last year.' ’’
Among those players whose numbers aren’t on par with last year’s is Igor Shesterkin, whose 2.58 goals-against average and .910 save percentage entering the game didn’t match up to his 2.07 and .935 last season, both figures that were the best in the league.
But Gallant wasn’t going to blame Shesterkin for the Rangers’ start. Shesterkin didn’t have much to do on Thursday, making 18 saves.
“No, he's been good,’’ the coach said at Thursday’s morning skate. “We're not putting any losses on him. Again, I think we played pretty well. And we found some ways to lose hockey games, and we’ve got to turn that around and find ways to win those games. The games that we won last year, that we don't want to talk about a whole lot, is we found ways to win those games. And this year, we seem to be finding ways to lose those games late in hockey game, so we’ve got to crack that and get better at it than that.’’
The Rangers took the lead on Zibanejad’s first goal at 15:40 of the opening period. The goal was the eighth of the season for Zibanejad, but only his first in five-on-five play.
The lead didn’t last long, though. Detroit tied it on a goal by fourth-line center Joe Veleno at 18:46, and then the Red Wings took the lead at 7:33 of the second period, on a goal by Lucas Raymond.
But the Rangers managed to tie the game on a power play goal by Chris Kreider who deflected in a pass from Artemi Panarin at 10:59 of the second.
At the morning skate, the big news was the reuniting of the Kid Line. Lafrenière was asked what made the three youngsters so effective together.
“We're strong down low,’’ he said. “I think our game down low is usually what brings us success. And I think all three of us can make plays, so it's good mix.’’
