Rangers
It took 17 games, but the Rangers finally earned their first comeback win, defeating the Philadelphia Flyers 3-2. Sporting their new Hometown Remix jerseys, the Rangers became the 32nd team to earn a comeback win this season. They scored twice in the third period to defeat the Flyers, who rank last in the Eastern Conference standings.
During the offseason, the retooling Rangers knew they had to score more goals. With Artemi Panarin off the books and the salary cap set to rise, Chris Drury signed 26-year-old Pavel Dorofeyev, last season’s second-best power-play goal scorer in the league, to a seven-year, $77 million contract.
So far, Dorofeyev has not met expectations. Before last night, he had only scored one power-play goal and four total goals. But he’s been much better in his last few games, missing several shots narrowly. He was due.
The Rangers entered yesterday’s game with the 18th-highest power-play rate, so they had to improve against the lowly Flyers. Their opportunity came while trailing 2-1 at 13:52 into the third period, when Dorofeyev played hero.
After entering the offensive zone on a dump-in, Mika Zibanejad played the puck along the halfwall and pushed it out to Adam Fox. He sent it back to Zibanejad, who crossed it to Dorofeyev at the right circle. Dorofeyev harnessed the puck on his blade and fired it sharply.
“My experience has been that when a player changes teams like that, signs a fairly decent contract, sometimes there’s a little bit of an adjustment period that players go through,” head coach Mike Sullivan said. “I think Pav is going through that process with us right now.”
Sullivan added that Dorofeyev’s struggles are one reason why he keeps switching line combinations, in even-strength situations and on the power play. Last night, Dorofeyev skated alongside Zibanejad and Alexis Lafrenière. The first power play unit featured Dorofeyev, Zibanejad, Lafrenière, Gabe Perreault, and Adam Fox.
In net, Dylan Garand was great again. He made 23 saves in his 12th straight game, once again proving he’s a capable NHL starter. His backup, James Reimer, cleared waivers today, but the team expects Joonas Korpisalo to join their four-game road trip.
Yesterday’s win was the Rangers’ eighth at home this season. They haven’t won a road game since October 2, but their eight home wins tie the league lead. It’s the first time since 1972-73 that the Rangers have won at least eight of their first 10 home games.
Perreault scored first for the Rangers, finishing an extended offensive zone shift by deflecting JT Miller’s deflection of Marcus Pettersson’s shot. Perreault, Miller, and Tye Kartye battled to stay in the offensive zone, and Kartye took advantage of a tired Flyers line. He passed a loose puck to Pettersson, who fired it through traffic.
The Rangers struggled toward the end of the opening frame, and Garand saved them in the final minute. Philadelphia controlled the game for most of the second period, scoring twice in 1:43, but the Rangers didn’t let the game escape.
“I don’t think we had our best stuff today in the first and second [periods],” Miller said. “I thought we got off to a decent start, and after that, I don’t think we had our best. That being said, third periods have been our best periods this year so far, and I thought that, being down a goal going into the third, we deserved to win that period.”
89 seconds after Dorofeyev’s game-tying power-play goal, Kartye scored the game-winner. Kartye, who played the second-most of the Rangers’ forwards, started the shift behind his own net and tapped Bjorkstrand at center ice, who passed behind to Fox.
With incredible foresight, Fox, who assisted on Dorofeyev’s goal, found Kartye cutting to the net, and he aced his uncontested shot. With 19 assists and 20 points in 17 games, Fox is the fastest Rangers defenseman to 20 points in a season since Brian Leetch in 2000-01. He also passed Mark Messier with 161 power-play assists as a Ranger, the sixth-most in franchise history.
Fox’s accolades are endless, but his assists wouldn’t matter without shooters. When asked about Kartye, whose five goals match his total in 24 games last season after the Rangers claimed him off waivers, Sullivan said, “He works at his game every day. He’s a relentless worker. He’s just a great teammate.
“Ever since we picked him up and he joined our team, he’s just fit in with our group. […] He brings so many intangibles. He’s good on the penalty kill, his puck pursuit game. He skates, he hunts pucks, and he’s conscientious defensively. He’s been a great fit for our group. He thrives in the game that we’re trying to play.”
Kartye’s performance capped off an excellent night for the Rangers. Now, they need to carry that momentum on their four-game road trip to the Pacific Northwest and Alberta. They will begin tomorrow afternoon against the Seattle Kraken (5:00 PM, 4:00 PM CST – MSG, DAZN).
Schedule
Saturday 11/7:
5:00 PM (4:00 PM CST): NYR at SEA; MSG, MSG2, DAZN
8:00 PM (7:00 PM CST): NYK at CLE; MSG, DAZN
Sunday 11/8:
1:00 PM (12:00 PM CST): NFL on FOX, Week 9 – New York Giants (4-2-1) at Philadelphia Eagles (2-6); FOX, FOX ONE
1:00 PM (12:00 PM CST): NFL on CBS, Week 9 – New York Jets (2-6) at Kansas City Chiefs (5-2); CBS, Paramount+
8:20 PM (7:20 PM CST): Sunday Night Football (SNF), Week 9 – Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-5) at Chicago Bears (6-2); NBC, Peacock
7:00 PM (6:00 PM CST): Football Night in America (FNIA); NBC, Peacock
8:00 PM (7:00 PM CST): Hyundai Sunday Night Kickoff; NBC, Peacock
8:10 PM (7:10 PM CST): GEICO Sunday Night Anthem; NBC, Peacock
Cover Image Courtesy: New York Rangers
