Blueshirts Make Cup Statement With Epic OT Win Over The Islanders

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For weeks, The Maven has been telling you that the New York Rangers are Stanley Cup-bound.

On Sunday afternoon at MetLife Stadium, almost 80,000 witnesses saw what I was talking about.

After playing pond hockey with the Islanders for more than two-and-a-half periods, the Blueshirts staged an epic come-from-behind victory to win it in overtime, 6-5.

Artemi (The Breadman) Panarin delivered the round Pumpernickel by disarming Noah Dobson and needle-pointing the rubber through the ensuing melee just ten seconds from the start of sudden death.

“The atmosphere was incredible,” enthused Breadman after the epic battle was over, “and the way we did it was incredible.”

Artemi is not exaggerating either. The Blueshirts overcame a three-goal deficit and then were two goals behind late in the third and still managed to tie the game on a Mika Zibanejad power play goal.

Mika Z: “This win goes to the top of my list of great experiences.”

“When we were down 4-1,” said Vincent Trocheck, “we still felt it was just a matter of time for us to come back as long as we stayed with it.”

Unlike the fighting-for-a-playoff-berth Islanders, the Rangers played a loosey-goosey game paced by Trocheck’s two-goal effort, but it was Chris Kreider who turned the game around late in the third stanza and his club down 5-3.

Coach Peter Laviolette pulled Shesterkin, and the gamble paid off when Kreiker scored at

15:52. Another power play opportunity inspired Lavvy to pull Iggie again, and this time Mika made good on it at 18:31.

To do so, the Blueshirts had to survive a not-very-Vezina performance by Igor Shesterkin, who still managed to produce 36 saves to blunt a determined Islanders team.

Looking forward, what really matters is what bossman Chris Drury decides to do with Blake Wheeler out for the rest of the season.

The Maven’s answer is “Do nothing, the roster is well-balanced” and the outdoor extravaganza is further proof that the Blueshirts can win any way the opposition wants to play.

Should Drury feel that the win in East Rutherford shows that Shesterkin is not at the top of his game, well, it really doesn’t matter. Jonathan Quick is ready, willing, and able to be Number One in goal.

Ergo: On To The Cup!

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