Recap: Rangers Best Flames in a Burner, 5-4 (OT)

After their bye week and All-Star break, the Rangers resumed their season when they hosted the Calgary Flames on Monday night, and what a game it was.

Filip Chytil picked up right where he left off and opened the first goal. He received a pass off the boards from Kaapo Kakko and beat Jacob Markstrom with an incredibly fast, Gaborik-like release in the rush. Chytil’s outburst is one of my favorite things about this year’s team. love it love it

Blake Coleman equalized the game later in the period. Andrew Mangiapane rode Ryan Lindgren towards the net and managed a floppy center in the general direction of the crease. Adam Fox, perhaps still recovering from his weekend bender at All-Star Weekend, couldn’t clear, allowing Coleman to clean it up for a goal.

The game got pretty darn hot from there. Jacob Trouba put down a big clean hit on Dillon Dube and was immediately challenged by Chris Tanev, who had literally just returned to the lineup from injury. Clever. Later, Sammy Blais did the same with Milan Lucic, making everyone fight everyone. Although they initially held Blais for a major, the referees took a long time to review the play and determined the goal was clean. Somehow, the Rangers came out with a power play they couldn’t convert.

Chytil was back at the start of the second. He benefited from a turnover in Calgary’s offensive zone and was out of contention, refining the puck with another quick release through Markstrom’s five-hole. Apparently I’m not alone at the Filip Chytil Appreciation Club as the Garden faithful chanted the young forward’s name. A very cool and well deserved moment for Chytil.

Calgary responded by scoring twice in quick succession, leaving them just one crossbar away from winning a post game. Towards the end of the season, Rangers picked up the dreaded Too Many Men minor, and the Flames leveled the game on the ensuing power play. Tyler Toffoli ripped a wrister off the post and on a shot Halak never saw.

In the final minute of game two, Trouba continued to tossing his weight, this time burying Nazem Kadri in the Rangers zone. It was another legal hit that entailed a fight, this time Dube made an appearance and earned a 10 minute misconduct package for instigators. The Rangers quickly finished off the Flames on the power play. Chris Kreider set up Mika Zibanejad with a skillful pass from the front door and Mika had all the net to bring it home. Rangers led 3-2 into the third thanks to physical play from Trouba and the Flames, who conceded stupid penalties in response.

That result lasted until the halfway point in the third game, when Calgary scored two quick goals in a row to secure the game’s first lead. Mangiapane’s skate scored first. After a video review, it was determined he did not kick the puck, and indeed it appeared that the move was somewhere in the gray area between deflection and kick. Defenseman Michael Stone followed up with a slapshot that would have been quite competitive in hardest shot competition.

Minutes later, Rangers equalized as Artemi Panarin set up Zibanejad for his second goal of the night. I honestly don’t know how the Flames left Zib so open, but they paid for it.

In the dwindling seconds of the third, Chytil had a chance for a game-winning goal that made the hat-trick crucial but was deferred with a pass to Kreider. Poor sweet fool.

And so we went into overtime with a score of four. Chytil almost won it again early on, but instead it was his linemate Alexis Lafrenière who scored the overtime winner. After Calgary flipped the puck in the Rangers zone, Lafrenière went into contention. He put on Zibanejad who unleashed a nasty one-timer. Markstrom made a great save but threw himself out of position. Laf held on to the game and his shot went through hapless Calgary defenders to give Rangers a 5-4 win.

his game had it all! Goals! Save! Hit! Fight if you like it. Despite being the first return leg and against a non-rival, the game was intense and felt like the playoffs. I love everything Chytil does, Zib keeps producing and hopefully winning the game for Laf will give him some swagger and confidence.

The Rangers face JT Miller and the Vancouver Canucks on Wednesday night.

Source: www.blueshirtbanter.com