The New York Rangers have reached the halfway point of the 2022-23 NHL season but their most recent contest will leave a sour taste in their mouth.
Damon Severson scored the winning goal for New Jesey and the Rangers blew a 3-1 lead in the final period to fall 4-3 in overtime to their Metro division rival.
Numbers don’t normally tell the whole story of a contest. Saturday afternoon was a perfect example. New Jersey tallied over 30 shots in the first period, with 19 of them on net. Yet Igor Shesterkin kept the Devils off the score sheet while Jimmy Vesey tallied his seventh goal of the season to put New York up 1-0.
New Jersey’s offensive onslaught would continue though throughout the game. After 27 straight saved shots, a Barclay Goodrow turnover set the stage for Jack Hughes to score a goal, his fifth straight game with a score.
But New York’s offense was more than up to the challenge of keeping pace with one of the highest-scoring teams in hockey. Julien Gauthier and Chris Kreider both found the back of the net in the second period and gave the Rangers a 3-1 advantage going into the third and final period.
Jack Hughes would take his strong second period showing in the third. The Devils high powered offense made quick work of the two-goal deficit and ended up tying the game at three and sending the third game between the two rivals into overtime.
In the extra frame, Severson would send the hometown crowd happy with his wrister past Shesterkin to complete the two-goal comeback. The Rangers were outshot 43-34 to the Devils, and were a frustrating 0-2 on the powerplay.
The loss keeps the Rangers in third place in the Metro division with a 22-12-7 record. They will be back at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday night against the Minnesota Wild.
Game Notes
- At the halfway point last season, the Rangers were 26-11-4. A six-point swing this season has done nothing to change New York’s stance in the Metro division though. They maintain a one-point advantage over Washington for the third spot in the division and are now two back of the Devils for second place.
- A key moment in the contest was when the Devils went on a five-on-three powerplay late in the first period when both Braden Schneider and Adam Fox were called for penalties. Jacob Trouba, Ryan Lindgren, and Barclay Goodrow all tallied over 1:30 of ice time and kept Jersey off the score sheet.
- Kreider’s goal was the 19th of the season and also set him above Mika Zibanjad for the team lead. The 31-year-old has scored goals in three of the last four games for New York.
