More than half of the New York Rangers’ 34 wins this season have required some kind of a comeback.
That type of ability to recover is among the reasons the Rangers have lost more than two in a row just once this season.
After recovering from a tough two-plus minutes late in the second period of their most recent game, the Rangers will look to take another step forward Friday when they host the New Jersey Devils.
New York’s 18 comeback wins are tied for the league lead entering action on Thursday.
The Rangers earned their latest comeback win on Wednesday with a 5-3 victory over the St. Louis Blues.
New York held a 2-0 lead on goals by Alexis Lafreniere and Ryan Strome before allowing three tallies on as many shots in a span of 2:14 in the second period. The Rangers, however, responded with three goals in the third period to avoid a season-high third consecutive regulation loss.
“Stuff like that happens when you have character on your team, good leadership,” New York coach Gerard Gallant said. “They find a way and they dug down in between periods.”
Chris Kreider scored the tiebreaking goal on the power play with 8:20 remaining in the third period. Kreider has 35 goals on the season and a league-leading 18 on the power play.
“Being able to dig in and doing whatever it takes to win hockey games,” Kreider said. “Being able to find our game, being able to forget about a bad shift or a bad period, not let it stack, not let the frustration overcome us.”
One of New York’s comeback wins at home occurred against New Jersey on Nov. 14.
The Rangers allowed the first goal to Jesper Bratt, squandered a pair of one-goal leads and earned a 4-3 win after Kreider scored the deciding goal in the seventh round of the shootout.
New Jersey mustered 12 goals during a seven-game skid from Jan. 23-Feb. 7 before erupting for 40 during its past eight contests (4-4-0).
The Devils have scored 21 goals in the past four games since Dougie Hamilton returned from missing over a month following jaw surgery. Jack Hughes also came back from the health and safety protocol.
Hamilton has a goal and two assists in the past four games, while Hughes has nine points (three goals, six assists).
Hughes scored a power-play goal 54 seconds into Tuesday’s 4-3 loss at Columbus.
“The first period we came out and created a lot of chances and didn’t capitalize,” Devils coach Lindy Ruff said. “That was probably the biggest difference in the game.”
Captain Nico Hischier and Pavel Zacha also scored Tuesday, and both are producing lately. Hischier has six goals and 11 points since New Jersey’s skid ended, while Zacha has a pair of goals and seven points in that span.
The Rangers have won the past seven meetings against the Devils, including six by at least two goals.
–Field Level Media