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In a game that could’ve gone either way, Adam Fox and the Rangers’ power play proved to be the difference.
Fifty-five seconds into overtime, Artemi Panarin hit Fox on the rush for the game-winner to take a 4-3 victory over the Ducks on Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden. To go along with the goal, Fox also chipped in two assists, while Panarin notched three to secure the win as well.
Roughly halfway through the final 20 minutes of regulation with the score locked 2-2, it seemed as though the save the Rangers needed and didn’t get from goalie Alexandar Georgiev was going to be the difference-maker.
Former Rangers prospect Danny O’Regan made a key block and sent the leading pass to Ducks forward Derek Grant, who deked Georgiev to his right before flicking the puck top left corner for the 3-2 lead at 10:35 of the third period.
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Ducks forward Max Comtois, however, handed the Rangers a power play at an opportune time when he hooked Fox with just over eight minutes left in regulation. It’s the kind of opportunity the Rangers rarely let go to waste.
Fox’s one-timer went off Panarin’s skate and bounced off the boards right to Chris Kreider, who backhanded it in at 13:40 to tie the game for a third time.
The Rangers’ individual record for power-play goals in a single season currently belongs to Jaromir Jagr and his 24 man-advantage tallies during the 2005-06 season. Kreider is now at 20.
The Rangers got caught up in their too-many-passes habit that has hovered over them all season long. Despite several odd-man rushes and a few nifty transition plays up the ice, the Rangers often went for the extra pass rather than putting it on net, which resulted in several broken plays.
The Rangers and Ducks traded goals through 40 minutes, skating relatively even despite the fact that the home team took way more penalties, to bring a 2-2 tie into the second intermission. On a delayed call on the Ducks in the second period, the Rangers worked the puck around the zone before Fox connected with Mika Zibanejad for the sharp-angled one-timer and 2-1 lead at 3:06.
Anaheim, on its third power play of the game, knotted the game at two a piece off Cam Fowler’s point shot that beat Georgiev just under five minutes into the middle frame.
Georgiev made an erratic kick save on a bouncing shot from Fowler later in the period to keep the game tied.
Both teams exchanged a goal in the first period, while the Rangers held a small edge in shots, 7-6. Sprung by a crisp pass from Filip Chytil, Jonny Brodzinski put the Rangers on the board just under 4 ¹/₂ minutes in.
Georgiev, making just his third start since the Rangers returned from their two-week hiatus at the beginning of February, was sharp early on. He denied Ducks rookie phenom Trevor Zegras on the doorstep, getting over just in time as the cross-ice feed slid in front of him.
The Ducks had some puck luck on their side when it banked in off Comtois, Rangers defenseman K’Andre Miller’s hand and Georgiev’s glove for the 1-1 score at 14:05.
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