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Rangers Finally Score but Lose in Overtime to Maple Leafs
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- Rangers Finally Score but Lose in Overtime to Maple Leafs
Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images
The New York Rangers ended a prolonged scoring drought and picked up a well-earned point in the standings Thursday against the Toronto Maple Leafs . But the Rangers still were left with an empty feeling after Auston Matthews scored less than a minute into overtime to hand them a 2-1 defeat at Scotiabank Arena.
The Maple Leafs capitalized on a Mika Zibanejad turnover and scored the game-winner off a 3-on-1 rush up ice. Only Adam Fox was back for the Rangers , and the defenseman ended up sliding out of the play when William Nylander deked him with a neat toe drag. Matthews was wide open to the side of the net for an easy tap in against the defenseless Igor Shesterkin .
It was a very quiet night prior to that for Matthews. But he came through when needed most, his fourth goal in five games coming just 58 seconds into each team's first overtime contest this season.
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Shesterkin finished with 22 saves, and allowed more than one goal for the first time in five starts this season. His Toronto counterpart, Anthony Stolarz , was outstanding, stopping 28 of 29 shots.
The Rangers (2-3-1) lost their third straight game (0-2-1) and first on the road (2-0-1). The Maple Leafs (3-2-0) won their second in a row.
"The key for me right now is we got to make sure we don't get discouraged," Rangers coach Mike Sullivan said postgame . "It was a big point for us. It's an important point for us. We've got to make sure that we control our own mindsets here moving forward. I think our intentions are in the right place."
Trailing 1-0 early in the third period, the Rangers not only pulled even, but scored their first goal in three games after being shut out by the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday and Washington Capitals on Sunday. Juuso Parssinen deflected Braden Schneider 's long-range shot past Stolarz at 4:51, and you could almost hear the collective sigh of relief from the Rangers bench all the way back in New York.
It'd been 170 minutes and 39 seconds of game time since the Rangers last scored late in the third period of their 6-1 win in Pittsburgh against the Penguins on Saturday. Taylor Raddysh , Parssinen's linemate, scored that one, in a twist of irony.
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The Maple Leafs opened the scoring at 11:48 of the first period, netting their first power-play goal this season. Nylander's right-wing shot hit Shesterkin and then deflected in off Matthew Knies , who was in tight near net, for his second goal of the season.
That was also the first power-play goal surrendered by the Rangers in six games. They killed off 11 straight, including one earlier in the first period, and were one of only two teams yet to allow a power-play goal entering play Thursday.
The Rangers also had two power plays of their own in the first period, but were unable to cash in despite firing eight shots on goal in four minutes with the man advantage. Stolarz robbed a wide-open Alexis Lafreniere with a diving glove save on New York's first power play. Later in the period, Stolarz frustrated J.T. Miller , whose point-blank shot was swallowed up by the Toronto goalie.
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Stolarz closed out that second successful kill with an impressive 1-2 sequence, kicking out a shot through traffic, and then somehow gloving Will Cuylle 's rebound try even though he was flat on his back.
The Rangers failed on their only other play in the second period, but slowly turned the tide in their favor at even strength. They won numerous puck battles as the period went on, and both Miller and Cuylle had excellent scoring chances again denied by the sharp Stolarz.
It was shaping up to be a replay of the previous two games, when the Rangers out-played, out-shot, and out-chanced the opposition, but failed to score against a hot goaltender. That is until Parssinen, a healthy scratch in four of the first six games this season, finally got one past Stolarz early in the third period,
Though New York largely dominated the third — holding a 10-4 shots advantage and 73.32 percent expected goals share, per Natural Stat Trick , the couldn't score again. And ultimately fell short in overtime.
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Here are some other key takeaways after the Rangers' 2-1 road loss to the Maple Leafs.
1. Young forwards switch lines, play well, create chances: same frustrating results
Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images
Will Cuylle and Alexis Lafreniere tied for the Rangers lead with eight shot attempts apiece, and each young forward had numerous Grade-A scoring chances. But neither was able to end his scoring slump. Cuylle, who had a team-high five shots on goal, is stuck on one goal through six games. So is Lafreniere, who had two shots on goal and was caught staring up at the Scotiabank Arena ceiling after he was robbed at one point by Stolarz.
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"I think you just try to keep a level head," Cuylle said about whether he's frustrated. "I feel like you maybe miss a few of those and hopefully 30 games down the road one goes off my head and in. I like to think that over a long season it'll balance out."
Perhaps in an attempt to change his team's fortunes offensively, Sullivan swapped Lafreniere and Cuylle at even strength. Lafreniere moved from his usual spot on right wing alongside Artemi Panarin and Zibanejad, to left wing on a line with Miller and Conor Sheary to start the second period. Cuylle then took Lafreniere's spot on the Zibanejad line.
The Miller line with Lafreniere had an expected goals share of 69.28 percent, and the Zibanejad line with Cuylle finished at 63.82 percent.
2. Making most of opportunity
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Parssinen's been an overlooked and somewhat forgotten player for the Rangers. He was beaten out for the 3C role by rookie Noah Laba in the preseason and played just one regular-season game prior to Thursday. But there he was, using his big body to get to the front of the net and then showed good hands to deflect in New York's only goal against Toronto.
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He logged only 8:41 TOI on Thursday, but yet took advantage of the opportunity he was given. Same held true in his season debut last Saturday, when he played a bit more than nine minutes and picked up an assist.
3. Borgen's back
Well, actually Will Borgen didn't go anywhere. But there was concern he'd miss this game after sustaining a lower-body injury against the Oilers and not practicing Wednesday. Sullivan said Borgen was a game-time decision after the defenseman took part in the morning skate.
Still, rookie defenseman Scott Morrow was recalled from Hartford of the American Hockey League and participated in warmups just in case. Borgen, though, played 24 shifts totaling 16:22 against the Maple Leafs, skating in his usual spot on the second pair with Matthew Robertson .
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It took just five minutes into the game before Borgen blocked a shot by Matthews, simply doing what he does, whether playing hurt or not. He also whizzed a long shot through traffic that turned into a tricky save by Stolarz right before the buzzer ended the first period.
One the down side, Borgen let Knies slip behind him and gain position to score the first goal of the game. Borgen had his back to the play and there was nothing he could do when the puck ricocheted into the net.
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