There’s not much to overshadow the spotlight of the Stadium Series games, which drew the third-largest crowd in NHL history and a national television audience watching the unfolding at MetLife Stadium, and the thrill of the overtime result.
So for the Rangers, conceding three goals in the first eight minutes was an ugly reminder of what ruined their scorching start to the season.
His bad habit of conceding multiple goals within one minute returned.
But then a hidden trait surfaced, one that kept the season steady even when opponents built a commanding lead, as the Blueshirt Islanders ultimately won 6-5. Ta.
Ten seconds into overtime, Artemi Panarin flipped the puck past goaltender Ilya Sorokin, giving the Rangers their 18th come-from-behind victory of the season and their ninth in the third period. They are tied for first in the NHL in both categories.
The 2018-19 Lightning and 2021-22 Panthers hold the record for most wins by at least one goal (29), and the 2014-15 Ducks set the record for most wins by at least one goal. did. According to league records, goals in the third period (18 goals).
The Rangers may not match those numbers, but so far this year they have avoided deficits of various scenarios and sizes to remain near the top of the NHL standings.
Their latest and most extreme example also helped them achieve a season-high seven-game winning streak.
“We’re just a tough group that believes we’re going to win the game in any game, at any point in time,” defenseman Jacob Trouba said. “It’s not like some fake stuff that people are making a fuss about on the bench. That’s how we do business and that’s our belief in this group.”
Even head coach Peter Laviolette admitted, “It wasn’t the script we would have written.”
That was probably not the case on Jan. 27 against the Senators, when they fell behind by two goals until hitting five straight in the second period.
Ditto for a 5-2 victory over the Ducks, currently the third-worst team in the Western Conference, after falling behind 2-0 earlier in the month.
“When things are going well, you feel confident and you feel like you can do anything,” Laviolette says. “So even if you’re down by a few goals with six minutes left, you still feel like you can do something. I think our players believed in that.”
Early in the season, the Rangers avoided losing consecutive games until December 5th and 9th.
The Rangers didn’t slow down often, but when they did, the Rangers won the next game 5-0.
It helped them avoid a losing streak that sunk the season and turned postseason plans into a chaotic scramble.
But underlying it is the ability to overcome in-game disadvantages and use them to extend your winning streak.
When the Blueshirts won six straight games to start the season, four of those games were comebacks. Two of those games were 1-0, and the remaining two games were 2-1.
Recently, the Rangers have been undefeated since the All-Star break, turning a 1-0 deficit into a win in three games.
And Sunday marked the first time in the 2023-24 season that a three-point deficit turned into a victory.
“Obviously, I think we’re going to play a lot of good teams and they’re going to do good things,” center Mika Zibanejad said. We know what we have to do when we’re in a bad situation and I think we did a pretty good job of getting back into the swing of things and obviously we were able to score some big goals and create some momentum to try and turn the game around. our method. “
The Rangers can’t always rely on those shortcomings to be ironed out, especially when scoring multiple goals or as the regular season moves into a time when a postseason berth is expected.
But even if it’s not sustainable, it’s certainly not a fluke at this point.
