Sometimes, you have to win ugly. Just get the two points, anyway you can.
The Rangers did just that Sunday, when they found themselves in a back-and-forth game against the plucky Buffalo Sabres. They needed a goalie change to start the third period, and needed, literally, a last-second goal by Ryan Lindgren to come away with a 5-4 victory at Madison Square Garden.
Lindgren drove the net and tapped in a pass from Mika Zibanejad with 0.4 seconds showing on the clock, rescuing the Rangers from what could have been an embarrassing loss to the young Sabres.
Adam Fox dug out a puck from the right corner and centered it to Zibanejad in the slot as time ticked down and Zibanejad relayed over to the back post, where Lindgren got a stick on it and got it behind Buffalo goalie Aaron Dell for his second goal of the season.
Igor Shesterkin, who entered the game to start the third period, had little work to do, but made four saves and earned the win as the Rangers improved their record to 11-4-3. Shesterkin has been the Rangers’ MVP through the first six weeks of the season, but he can’t be expected to start every game the rest of the way.
Rangers coach Gerard Gallant opted to start backup goaltender Alexandar Georgiev Sunday, no doubt trying to find a way to get Georgiev in some kind of rhythm. But Georgiev allowed four goals in 18 shots over two periods and Gallant decided to reverse course and insert Shesterkin in the third.
Georgiev had allowed 16 goals in his first four starts (plus one relief appearance) of the season, but he’d played relatively well in last Sunday’s 4-3 shootout win over the Devils. As Shesterkin has played more and more, Georgiev’s playing time has become spottier and spottier. And, no doubt, because of that, his play has become less and less reliable.
And that leaves Gallant with a problem: When is it safe to start Georgiev? Or must Shesterkin start every game, including back-to-backs?
In a relatively blah first period, the Sabres opened the scoring with a power-play goal by Rasmus Asplund, when he banged in a rebound at 15:53 of the first period. But the Rangers tied it 1-1 on a power play of their own, by Chris Kreider, who swept in a pass from Artemi Panarin at 19:37.
An awful giveaway by Jarred Tinordi, in the lineup for the first time in four games, set up Buffalo’s Vinnie Hinostroza for the breakaway goal that put Buffalo up, 2-1, at 2:26 of the second period, and then things started to get a little crazy.
First, Jacob Trouba tied the score, 2-2, on a delayed penalty call, jamming in the rebound of a Panarin shot/pass at 8:07 of the period, and then the teams combined for four goals over a one-minute, 22-second span to send the game into the second intermission tied at 4-4.
First, Kaapo Kakko scored his third goal of the season -- and his third in four games -- to make it 3-2, at 12:07. But Tage Thompson tied it with a slapshot from the left point at 12:57, and Rasmus Dahlin scored at 13:12 to put Buffalo back in front, 4-3.
At that point, it appeared as though Georgiev expected to be pulled from the net, but Gallant left him in. And K’Andre Miller scored on a left point shot, through traffic, tie it at 4-4, at 13:29.
When the third period started, Shesterkin was in the net, replacing Georgiev.
