The Ranger’s resilience keeps them strong

Every NHL team has faced fair set of obstacles this season, amid COVID-19 protocols, injuries, and the readjustment of an 82-game schedule with plenty of travel, but Rangers have yet to stumble first. any challenge.

Last month, The Blueshirts stumbled in a series of games against top competitors. And as the calendar turned to January, their first major coronavirus outbreak hit and consistently kicked player after player out of the lineup, forcing Rangers to dip their toes into their taxi fleet of swashbucklers. young player.

However, Rangers responded to almost every disappointing loss with an attempt to atone in the next game. Just when it looked like they might land on Earth after an explosive start to the season, the Rangers continued to look for ways to stay afloat.

“I think it’s going to be a tough game,” head coach Gerard Gallant said later 3-2 win over the Flyers on Saturday night at the Wells Fargo Center. “I actually did. It was a long flight [on Friday]. The boys had 5 / hours [on the plane], at 7pm, come back here and play the next day.

“But they played their best. They played a good and consistent hockey game. They played for 60 minutes, and that’s why I’m really proud of a team tonight. We competed, we played well and everyone integrated. ”

After being trailed by a goal at half-time in the third half on Saturday, Rangers received goals from Filip Chytil and Chris Kreider to guarantee victory. It marked Rangers’ 11th comeback win of the season, 4th in the NHL entering Sunday, and their third in the final 20 minutes of this season.

The resilient Rangers entered Sunday with the second-most win percentage in single-goal games in the league, having won 12 games by just one tally.

“We definitely go into games with confidence that we can win and I think we’ll continue to play well,” defender Adam Fox said. “The whole game, we had a lot of chances, and you know, some saves too [by goalie Igor Shesterkin], but yes, we are looking for different ways to win. I think that shows the resilience of this group, and it’s nice to end the trip like that. ”

Forwards Barclay Goodrow and Alexis Lafreniere are eligible to clear COVID-19 protocol and return to the lineup in time for Wednesday’s game against the Maple Leafs at Madison Square Garden.

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Jonny Brodzinski and Tim Gettinger were reassigned to the taxi fleet, while Anthony Greco was returned to AHL Hartford.

Mika Zibanejad’s stunning goal on Saturday extended his streak to five season-long games, scoring three goals and two assists in that span. As of December 15, Zibanejad is the team with the most goals (9) in the NHL and third in terms of points (14).