LAS VEGAS — It had been 54 days since the Rangers last won.
Over 54 days, the losses piled up, and every step forward felt like two steps back.
On Saturday night, the Blueshirts ended that run with a 2-1 victory over the Golden Knights at T-Mobile Arena. There, the visitors proved they can still go toe-to-toe with and beat one of the NHL's top teams.
After weeks and weeks of being on the decline, Saturday night was probably the first day on the upswing for the Rangers in a while.
“We knew we were in the right spot from the beginning,” head coach Peter Laviolette said after his team improved to 20-20-2 on the season. “For me, it's also a continuation of the last game. So it's an added positive as well, that it was a really solid effort and game at home. [against the Devils] Then we'll go on a trip in a day and leave here to play tonight.
“I thought everything about our guys was great, from the way they dropped the puck in the first period, and they continued to do that for 60 minutes.”
The Rangers battled the Golden Knights evenly through the first two periods.
The score was tied 1-1 at the start of the final frame, but the Rangers broke it at the 5:57 mark and cruised to the end.
Matches are primarily played 5-on-5, and Rangers have performed better at even strength so far this season. Adam Edstrom's beautiful chip on Johnny Brodzinski's shot in transition gave the Rangers the lead they needed.
“know [Matt Rempe] I posted it on the wall, great outlet pass to Johnny. [Brodzinski] So we talked about hitting the net and I just tried to get in there,” Edstrom said of his third goal of the season and first game-winning goal of his career. “The chip hit the puck and went into the puck.”
The Rangers fended off two more Golden Knights power plays in the third set, including 57 seconds of 6-on-4 play with an empty net in Las Vegas, as well as the home team's 11 shots on goal. He survived and made smart decisions defensively. They broke through the zone and continued their attack to secure the victory.
Fans dressed in red, white and blue proudly chanted “Let's Go Rangers!” into enemy territory in the final minutes.
With their fourth win in their last six games, Rangers appear to be on the upswing after a slow start to the season.
Mika Zibanejad extended his point streak to six games with an assist on Vincent Trocheck's first goal for the Rangers, who started playing with the same insatiable passion that made last season such a success.
Both teams took advantage of the initial power play, but it did not reach the middle frame.
The referee had to repeatedly tell Trocheck to get into the box for a hole-out call on Tomas Hertl, but after he vehemently disputed it, the Golden Knights were forced to play by Las Vegas' captain on the Rangers' side. , Mark Stone scored the goal and was quick to capitalize on the man advantage. net.
But just two minutes later, Keegan Kolesar was called for tripping K'Andre Miller to give the Rangers a chance to fight back, and the Rangers had a chance to fight back.
Trocheck absorbed Zibanejad's hard slap shot and backhanded the loose puck past Las Vegas goaltender Ilya Samsanov to tie the score at one-all.
“Obviously it's a big, really good team,” Ryan Lindgren said. “Second in a row. We’re going to play a really good Colorado team. [on Tuesday]so you need to keep building it. I just try to play better every game.”
