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There was Artemi Panarin racing down the right side during the first minute of overtime and there, filling the middle on an odd-man rush while he tried to keep up with the explosive Russian, was Adam Fox.
“When I saw the two-on-one chance there I got a little second wind, especially with Bread,” Fox said after taking Panarin’s feed to beat John Gibson from the slot at 0:55 of OT to give the Blueshirts a 4-3 victory over the Ducks on Tuesday at the Garden. “I was saying that I play [against] those two-on-ones a few too many times in practice so I tried to do what the forwards do against me.”
The victory, achieved after the club had fallen behind 3-2 midway through the third, lifted the Rangers into second place by percentage points over the Penguins. Two points are their own reward in the push to clinch the Rangers’ first playoff invite since 2017.
But what stood out about this one — including Chris Kreider’s league-leading 20th power-play goal that tied the score at 13:40 of the third — were the performances of Fox and Panarin, marquee athletes who have been just a wee bit ordinary over the last few weeks.
Oh, and can we add the authoritative performance of Filip Chytil, whose second straight strong showing could auger well for both 72 himself and for his team that has been searching just about all season long for a third line that can be a threat?
The Rangers’ resourcefulness is a trait to be admired. They are an incontrovertibly impressive 38-17-5, but perhaps just as commendable is the 8-4-1 record since coming out of their winter solstice crafted even as premium players Fox and Panarin have not been at their best.
Fox’s season hit a nadir in St. Louis on March 10 when he was on for four even-strength goals against while going minus-four in a 6-2 defeat, each unprecedented in his three-year storybook career. That match, though, seemed the (il)logical conclusion to a stretch in which Fox appeared fatigued.
The bounce-back began in Dallas on Saturday. By the end of this one, last Thursday had receded into distant memory. Fox was jumping. Fox, whose assists on the second and third goals elevated his total to 52, was himself through 24:27 of ice time.
“Foxy, he was really good tonight. He got back to his game and felt pretty good out there,” head coach Gerard Gallant said. “You could really see the difference in him.”
There is an awareness about Fox that extends beyond the 200×85-foot sheet of ice. Still only 24, still a veteran of fewer than 200 NHL games, the kid from Long Island was able to place last Thursday in perspective as if he were Brian Leetch after more than 1,200 games.
“It’s a long season, you look around the league and there are star players who go minus-four, minus-five some nights,” Fox said. “Those things just happen.
“Obviously you don’t want to be a deterrent for your team and be on the ice for goals against, we’re competitors and don’t want to be hurting the team like that. You want to come back strong. You just try to have a short memory and get back to the way we can play.”
Panarin, who had three assists to increase his total to 55, has been piling up points, a dozen (1-11) in the last four games. That speaks to the winger’s ability to sew gold out of straw. Nevertheless, he has not been as pinpoint as he was his first two years in New York. He has not been at the top of his imposing game. This one was a start, though Panarin declined to delve into deep self-examination.
“Not bad. It’s hard to speak about myself,” Panarin said through an interpreter when asked for an assessment of his game. “But the team won so I won’t beat myself up for my mistakes.”
Chytil, meanwhile, has had an inferior season. But there was jump and crispness to his game in this one, just as in Dallas on Saturday. No. 72 was snapping hard passes on entries as if he were a dispatcher, his feed setting up Jonny Brodzinksi for the 1-0 goal early in the match. There was drive to the net, as well, from the 22-year-old Czech.
“I really liked his game,” Gallant said. “We talked about it after the Dallas game, I thought that was his best game of the year, and again tonight he looked really confident. That’s going to be a real key for us.”
The imposing power play got the tying goal late. Alexandar Georgiev turned in a sound performance in recording his first victory since Jan. 5. Fox and Panarin were Fox and Panarin. A good night on Broadway.
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