When the Toronto-Rangers wore a team that included a number of skaters, they were the bottom-six players – or usually deep players – who pushed the Maple Leafs into overtime Monday.
The Rangers, for the second straight game, had to rely on their top two lines to create the offense — and Artemi Panarin delivered the game-winning goal in 3:48 for OT’s 2-1 win over Toronto in front of 18,098. Fans at Scotiabank Arena.
It came against a top-heavy Toronto team that included Mitch Marner, John Tavares, William Nylander and Aston Matthews – the top eight scorers in the NHL’s reign as the top goal scorer of the season, as he made his season debut against the Rangers after recovering from wrist surgery.
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Goaltender Igor Shesterkin was brilliant in his second straight start, dismissing 40 of the 41 shots he faced and keeping the Rangers alive through the second period. The 25-year-old stood over his head in overtime and saved the highlight-reels against Matthews and David Camp.
Igor Shusterkin was amazing in Toronto and made 40 saves.Getty Images
With the recent resurgence of Ryan Strom and Capo Kakko in the Kovid-19 protocol, the Rangers were without their most aggressive firepower.
“It has been moving parts of it all season,” head coach Gerard Gallant said before Monday’s match. “Do I want to have our top guys? Absolutely. But we’ll go ahead and play as hard as we can and work as hard as we can. If we don’t win games, it won’t be forgiven.”
Barclay Goodrow has climbed to the top six for the first time this season, with second-tier Panarin and Philippe Chatill filling out the last two for Strom. Instead of his usual fourth-line spot, Kevin Rooney focused on Julian Gauthier and Sammy Blaze in the third unit. Greg McKegg, who recalled the Storm protocol, skated in the middle of Dryden Hunt and Ryan Reeves.
The loss of Strom and Kakko revealed that the Rangers needed more top-six and power-play reinforcements. This is not the ideal situation when a player like Hunt is logging 2:11 on a power play that finished 0-for-3 on the night.
Artemi Panarin picked the right moment for the first goal of the first TU.Getty Images
Mikabebanejad saved the end of the bargain, and the Rangers struck first despite struggling to enter the offensive zone and pinning on their end a couple of times after making two penalties. Gibanejad’s shot from the slot at 13:49 left the post, then crossbar and out quickly, the goal was not announced until after the video review that Puck thought he had crossed the goal line.
Toronto dominated the middle frame, limiting the Rangers to just two shots and making 17 of their own. Michael Bunting tied the game at 1-1 and a half.
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