EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Artemi Panarin scored 10 seconds into overtime Sunday night to cap a wild comeback by the New York Rangers, who overcame a two-goal third-period deficit to beat the New York Islanders 6-5 in a Stadium Series game in front of a crowd of 79,600 at MetLife Stadium.
Islanders defenseman Noah Dobson turned the puck over just after the faceoff and Panarin shuffled the puck before beating Ilya Sorokin.
Erik Gustafsson scored early in the first, Vincent Trocheck collected a pair of goals in the second and Chris Kreider and Mika Zibanejad scored extra attacker goals late in the third to force overtime for the Rangers, who trailed 4-1 before winning their seventh straight.
Goalie Igor Shesterkin made 36 saves for the Rangers, who are 5-0 in outdoor games.
Brock Nelson, Bo Horvat and Mathew Barzal scored within a span of a little more than three minutes early in the first period before Anders Lee scored in the second and Alexander Romanov scored in the third for the Islanders, who fell to 3-3-3 under head coach Patrick Roy.
Sorokin recorded 32 saves for the Islanders, who are 0-1-1 in outdoor games. They fell to the Rangers 2-1 at Yankee Stadium on Jan. 29, 2014.
Gustaffson scored on the Rangers’ first shot 88 seconds after faceoff before Nelson — who scored the Islanders’ lone goal in the 2014 outdoor game — began Sunday’s flurry at the 4:20 mark, when he took a pass from Scott Mayfield in the slot and sent a shot under Shesterkin’s glove off the post.
Horvat got a step on K’Andre Miller before firing a shot under Shesterkin’s stick arm and off the far post for a 4-on-4 goal at 7:18. Barzal scored an impressive power play goal just 16 seconds later, when he got a stick on a pass from Nelson despite being tripped from behind by Rangers defenseman Ryan Lindgren.
Lee redirected a shot by Pierre Engvall for another power play goal 1:03 into the second.
Trocheck began the Rangers’ comeback attempt by redirecting Artemi Panarin’s shot for a power play goal 4:33 later before he pounced on a rebound and sent an angled shot over Sorokin’s pads with 1:36 remaining.
Romanov put the Islanders ahead by two goals again following an unusual sequence 1:53 into the third. Lindgren’s stick accidentally caught Lindgren in the face as he passed the puck into the crease. With Lindgren on the ice, Romanov moved to the left of Shesterkin, where he tucked the puck into the net after teammate Noah Dobson’s shot glanced off the stick of Rangers center Jonny Brodzinski.
With Shesterkin pulled for an extra attacker, Kreider redirected Panarin’s shot for a power play goal with 4:08 left. Mayfield was whistled for tripping with 2:28 left and Shesterkin was pulled again before Zibanejad tied the score 51 seconds later.
–By Jerry Beach, Field Level Media