Less than two minutes away from a third consecutive victory, the New York Rangers couldn’t seal the deal against the Colorado Avalanche on Tuesday night at Ball Arena. Instead, they allowed Devon Toews to score with 36.1 seconds remaining in overtime to cap a 3-2 loss to the Avalanche, after Arrturi Lehkonen tied the score at 18:47 of the third period.
It was a bitter defeat for the Rangers (20-20-3) who were the better team for much of the game, following a home win last week against the New Jersey Devils and a solid 2-1 road win Saturday against the Vegas Golden Knights. With the OT loss, the Rangers do have points in five straight games (3-0-2) and are 4-1-2 in their past seven games.
Toews’ game-winner came on a right-wing shot that went underneath Igor Shesterkin’s pads and with the Rangers scrambling and out of position to defend properly. It also came a minute or so after Mika Zibanejad was stoned on a breakaway by Avalanche goalie Mackenzie Blackwood and after the Rangers failed to score on a power play in overtime.
Blackwood was outstanding for Colorado, finishing with 27 saves, including three in OT. Shesterkin made 23 saves for the Rangers.
Each of the Rangers goals was scored by the fourth line. Sam Carrick netted a short-handed goal and assisted on Adam Edstrom’s go-ahead goal in the second period.
Parker Kelly scored Colorado’s other goal and Nathan MacKinnon increased his NHL-leading point total to 70 with two assists, including the primary on the game-winning goal.
“The frustrating thing is not to get the second point in the column which we need,” Rangers coach Peter Laviolette said postgame. “That’s why everybody’s just frustrated and irritated with the night”
Colorado Avalanche 3 – New York Rangers 2 (OT)
Though the Avalanche came out flying in the opening minutes, it was the Rangers who had the better scoring chances early in the first period. Edstrom had a breakaway just 2:38 into the game, but Blackwood made a clutch pad save. Then Blackwood lunged to his left at 3:50 to deny Will Cuylle in tight. Less than a minute after that, Blackwood burst left to right across his crease to rob Filip Chytil’s tip of a perfect seam pass from Chris Kreider off the rush.
When the puck went down the other end of the ice, Kelly ripped his fifth goal of the season from the slot, beating Shesterkin stick side to make it 1-0 Avalanche at 4:53.
Shesterkin kept his focus, though, and made a sensational glove save on a wicked one-time from the left circle by MacKinnon at 6:08. The Rangers goalie had an answer for the League’s leading scorer again just 40 seconds later, when Shesterkin got a glove on MacKinnon’s right-wing shot off the rush.
With the Avalanche carrying the play and looking to double their lead after a tripping penalty called against Kreider, the Rangers turned things completely around at 11:55. Cale Makar fumbled the puck inside the Rangers blue line, Carrick stole it and took off the other way. Carrick’s slick finish off a short-handed breakaway tied the game 1-1.
It was Carrick’s fourth goal of the season (first short-handed) and third in the past six games. The Rangers are third in the NHL with six shorties this season.
Five minutes later, Blackwood robbed Reilly Smith on a quick in-tight one-timer after a Kreider pass. Smith then had a good scoring chance off the rush on right wing at 18:30, but again Blackwood was there to deny a good Rangers scoring chance.
If not for Blackwood, the Rangers easily could have carried a lead into the first intermission. Instead it was 1-1 and the Rangers held an 11-5 advantage in shots on goal.
The Avalanche goalie was tested early in the second period again, but was equal to the task, denying Alexis Lafreniere on a partial break at 2:56 and Artemi Panarin off a neat give-and-go at 5:58.
Another misplay by the Avalanche in the offensive zone led to another Rangers goal, though, at 9:59. A pass toward the blue line was just out of Casey Mittelstadt’s reach and sent the Rangers fourth line out the other way on a 2-on-1 rush. Edstrom sprinted down the middle, accepted Carrick’s pass and wristed a forehand shot past Blackwood’s glove to make it 2-1 Rangers.
Edstrom’s fourth goal was his second in as many games, and held up to the second intermission. Late in the period, the Rangers blitzed the Avalanche during a power play, but Blackwood stopped all seven shots he faced to keep it a one-goal game.
The third period was a pretty low-event affair until Ross Colton burst to the net on a Colorado power play at 14:53. He cut in from left wing and tried to beat Shesterkin up high, but the Rangers goalie made a terrific glove save to keep it 2-1.
The Rangers killed off that power play and finished the game 3-for-3 on the penalty kill. They allowed only Colton’s one shot in six minutes down a man and, of course, scored a short-handed goal to cap a terrific PK performance.
Colorado pulled Blackwood with 2:15 remaining in regulation and struggled to find clear shooting or passing lanes. But the Rangers couldn’t get the puck out of the zone and the Avalanche were able to tie the game at 18:47 when Lehkonen buried a rebound after Shesterkin made an initial save on Mikko Rantanen’s drive.
Rantanen took a senseless interference penalty just 45 seconds into overtime. With a chance to win the game and earn the second standings point, the Rangers maintained zone time for most of the two-minute minor. They managed three shots on goal, but misfired on three others from in close. Blackwood, made two solid stops against Panarin and Adam Fox before Rantanen was sprung from the penalty box.
Yet another misplay by the Avalanche in the offensive zone led to a clean breakaway for Zibanejad at 3:08 of OT, but Blackwood foiled him with a quick glove save. Zibanejad’s point streak ended at six games.
Toews scored his sixth goal of the season, and third game-winner, on a one-time blast from the right circle, after excellent work down low by Logan O’Connor had the Rangers scrambling.
“They competed and did everything we wanted to do for 58 minutes,” Laviolette explained. “It’s really difficult walking away and not getting that extra point. Tie it up and even in overtime, looks and chances to win the game, we didn’t get it done.
“So that’s the frustrating part about it, is to play so well for the 58 and then not to capitalize. Guys played hard the entire night. It was a hard-fought game for us and didn’t get the results that we wanted.”
The Rangers will next travel to Utah to close out their three-game road trip on Thursday.
