Rangers Recap: Call to the Wild

Just when you think the Rangers are dead in the water, they find a way to somehow squeak out a massive win. The Minnesota Wild, though not a massive power house, are a tough team because their goaltending has been pretty good all season. It took overtime, with the Rangers finally coming out on top of the 3 on 3 coin flip, making their push for the playoffs more interesting. And they actually looked good at 5v5!

Igor Shesterkin was solid again, a nice trend after an off year for one of the best goalies in the NHL. Shesterkin made plenty of difficult saves, including some tough re-directs through screens and didn’t give up too many rebounds. I think it’s fair to say this team lives and dies with the offense putting up goals, and Igor stopping pucks, because the defensive end of the puck, not really present this season. If this team does end up making the dance, Shesterkin will need to be brilliant to cover up the shaky at best Rangers defense.

The goals for the Rangers came with some small heartwarming stories, as both Jonny Brodzinski and Braden Schneider scored with family in the crowd, and both were clutch goals. Brodzinski got the go-ahead goal in the third, shooting through a screen. Brodzinski has been a nice story for the Rangers. While he likely isn’t an everyday player on a Cup contender, he’s a solid depth forward who has earned every game he gets. Depth wins, and Brodzinski is a solid stopgap fourth liner.

Schneider got the OT winner on a wicked backhander that needed to clear a review before the game ended. Schneider shocked everyone with that goal, since none of us knew he could do that. Schneider isn’t usually someone we scream at with bad plays, but he also hasn’t necessarily progressed beyond a bottom pair defenseman. He’s only 23, and the system and lack of consistent partners does matter, but at some point we’d like to see more progress. Still, a solid third pairing right handed defenseman is valuable.

The Rangers have a chance to avenge their awful weekend by beating Columbus in Columbus on Saturday. If they lose, the season is truly done. If they win in regulation, all of a sudden it’s a different story.