NEW YORK _ Quietly, Ryan Strome has become a significant player for a Rangers team that is sputtering toward the finish line of a second straight season out of the playoffs.
The 25-year-old Strome scored his 17th goal of the season Friday in the Rangers' 4-2 win over St. Louis at Madison Square Garden that at least temporarily prevented the Blues from clinching a playoff spot.
The goal was his fourth in five games and 16th in 58 games for the Rangers after being acquired from the Edmonton Oilers Nov. 16 in a straight swap for the underachieving Ryan Spooner. His 17 goals ties his career-high for a season, set in 2014-15, his first full stint in the NHL with the Islanders.
Strome's goal, unassisted at 2:22 of the second period, got the Rangers on the board after the Blues had taken a 2-0 lead into the first intermission. Pavel Buchnevich tied the score, 2-2, just 1:20 later, before Jimmy Vesey's goal at 5:47 of the third period broke the tie and Chris Kreider scored an empty-netter with 7.3 seconds to go. Alexandar Georgiev made 44 saves to get the win.
Strome, who hasn't lived up to the expectations put on him after being chosen fifth overall by the Islanders in the 2011 draft, has recast himself with the Rangers as a versatile top-nine forward who can take faceoffs, play a two-way game, and can play both on the power play and penalty kill.
"The draft was so long ago _ I'm on my third team, now _ so much has changed," he said Friday, when asked about the weight of his draft position. "I've played over 400 (NHL) games now, so it's just a matter of finding the consistency, and I think I've been able to do that here. I think I've been able to enter the game, and whether I produce (goals) or not, I think I've found a way to impact the game a little bit."
One of the things Strome is doing to impact the team these days is helping groom 20-year-old Lias Andersson, who like Strome, was a high draft pick (No. 7 overall in 2017) and hasn't exactly exploded onto the NHL scene. Strome has played on Andersson's line for the past five games, and spends a lot of time talking to him.
"You know, a guy like him, a lot of people are saying he was drafted high, blah, blah, blah," Strome said of Andersson. "But I mean, he's still a pretty young kid, and it takes time for people to develop into what they're going to be. I think he's got a lot of intangibles that you look for in a young guy. He works really hard, he's really committed. I think the offensive side of his game will come. And, for me, I've been through so many ups and downs myself, I can relate a little bit."
