{"id":437724,"date":"2024-02-19T15:35:36","date_gmt":"2024-02-19T20:35:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/?p=437724"},"modified":"2024-02-19T15:35:36","modified_gmt":"2024-02-19T20:35:36","slug":"rangers-complete-historic-comeback-in-stadium-series-tilt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2024\/02\/19\/rangers-complete-historic-comeback-in-stadium-series-tilt\/","title":{"rendered":"Rangers Complete Historic Comeback In Stadium Series Tilt Over The Islanders"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>After their Stadium Series showdown at MetLife Stadium, the<a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2024\/02\/16\/new-york-rangers-forward-blake-wheeler-injured\/\" target=\"_self\"> New York Rangers<\/a> remain perfect in outdoor games with a record of 5-0-0. With the odds far in their favour at one point in time, New York revived their old, reliable &#8220;no quit&#8221; mentality and defeated the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2024\/02\/18\/nhl-predictions-feb-18-rangers-vs-islanders\/\" target=\"_self\">New York Islanders<\/a> 6-5 in overtime. Sunday&#8217;s win is now seven consecutive victories for the Blueshirts, retaining the longest active winning streak in the NHL. The phrase &#8220;a win is a win&#8221; could not be more evident here. With the cold wind in their faces and a three-goal deficit to climb out of, <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2023\/10\/10\/ranger-headlines-opening-week\/\" target=\"_self\">Peter Laviolette&#8217;s team<\/a> never said never.<\/p>\n<p>It was not the prettiest of wins, yet it was the way they overcame their obstacles. When <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/s\/shestig01.html?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-02-19_hr\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Igor Shesterkin<\/a> and the defensive core looked depleted, the forwards kept moving their feet. Drawing penalties ended up being the deciding factor in the Rangers acquiring at least one point and forcing overtime. This was a game where the big guns came to play. Two goals were scored by one of New York&#8217;s all-stars in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/t\/trochvi01.html?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-02-19_hr\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Vincent Trocheck<\/a>. An equalizer provided by a new-and-improved <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/z\/zibanmi01.html?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-02-19_hr\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Mika Zibanejad<\/a>. Finally, the win is capped off by the leading point-scorer, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/p\/panarar01.html?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-02-19_hr\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Artemi Panarin<\/a>. It was an incredible night that the team and fans will never forget. To quote High School Musical, &#8220;This can be the start of something new.&#8221;<\/p>\n<h2>Stadium Series: The Meadowlands Miracle<\/h2>\n<p>&#8220;Somewhere in the swamps of Jersey,&#8221; the Rangers pulled off a comeback that even Bruce Springsteen would be proud of. With over 79,000 people in attendance, MetLife Stadium was buzzing right from the start of warmups. From pulling into the parking lot, the crowd was dominated by the colours of red, white, and royal blue. Reminiscent of New York Giants playoff games, it felt as if there were no parking spots left. The music was blasting, the drinks were flowing, and New York hockey fans were ready for an all-time matchup.<\/p>\n<p>Both fanbases were glowing and amped for their teams to hit the ice. With a delayed start due to sun glare, fans (including myself) became restless and were eager for puck drop. After a brief waiting period, it was time to play some hockey. From the initial puck drop, the Islanders tested Igor within the first minute. Testing his ability to see the puck, Shesterkin stood tall momentarily. Not even 90 seconds into the game, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/search\/search.fcgi?pid=gustaer02,gustaer01&amp;search=Erik+Gustafsson&amp;utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-02-19_hr\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Erik Gustafsson<\/a> let go a clapper past <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/s\/sorokil01.html?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-02-19_hr\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Ilya Sorokin<\/a> and the Rangers would score on their first shot of the game. It seemed as if <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/r\/roypa01.html?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-02-19_hr\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Patrick Roy<\/a> took that goal personally.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">WHAT. A. RIP. ? <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/YWSEOhArJr\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/YWSEOhArJr<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 New York Rangers (@NYRangers) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/NYRangers\/status\/1759320787926790354?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">February 18, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Count the Islanders for three consecutive goals from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/n\/nelsobr01.html?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-02-19_hr\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Brock Nelson<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/h\/horvabo01.html?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-02-19_hr\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Bo Horvat<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/b\/barzama01.html?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-02-19_hr\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Mathew Barzal<\/a>. In the blink of an eye, Long Island&#8217;s hockey team is in full control of a two-goal lead. Blame the sun or blame the defensive collapse, it was a completely different hockey game then. The only source of optimism was that there were forty minutes of play left. Yet the beginning of the second period felt like a carbon copy of the end of the first.<\/p>\n<h3>The Importance of Drawing Penalties<\/h3>\n<p>Despite being down in the game, New York knew there was all to play for in the final period. Although Alex Romanov made it 5-3, there was just enough time to create some magic.<\/p>\n<p>A trademark deflection from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/k\/kreidch01.html?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-02-19_hr\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Chris Kreider<\/a> and a now trademark one-timer from Zibanejad made it a 5-5 hockey game. The capacity crowd grew louder and louder as overtime began. The extra frame only took 10 seconds thanks to Panarin. His controversial goal had to be reviewed by the league.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">BREADMAN ALWAYS DELIVERS. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/exWaK3Gtbg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/exWaK3Gtbg<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 New York Rangers (@NYRangers) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/NYRangers\/status\/1759363695199621227?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">February 18, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Eventually, it was deemed a good goal and the Rangers, along with their fans, started to celebrate.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">After review\u2026<\/p>\n<p>?\ufe0f?\ufe0f?\ufe0f THE CROWD GOES WILD. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/sH2gDvNSEH\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/sH2gDvNSEH<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 New York Rangers (@NYRangers) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/NYRangers\/status\/1759377461819629571?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">February 19, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>It was a gusty win for New York and shows the effect of moving your feet to draw penalties. Even when you do not have a lane or a shot, continue to make a play. That is one thing that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/l\/lafreal01.html?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-02-19_hr\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Alexis Lafreniere<\/a> has in his repertoire. On the puck, he alone can keep a play alive. He continues to be a reliable asset on New York&#8217;s second line. Until now, no team had ever come back from a three-goal deficit in an outdoor game.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">What. A. Night.<\/p>\n<p>Enjoy, family. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/mwBcYQuoaB\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/mwBcYQuoaB<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 New York Rangers (@NYRangers) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/NYRangers\/status\/1759398758444351962?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">February 19, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>After all that, New York will return to action on Tuesday when they take on the surging <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2024\/02\/19\/nhl-predictions-feb-19-w-dallas-stars-vs-boston-bruins\/\" target=\"_self\">Dallas Stars<\/a> at Madison Square Garden. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m. EST.<\/p>\n<p>(Also, shoutout to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/r\/rempema01.html?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-02-19_hr\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Matt Rempe<\/a> on an impactful NHL debut. The amount of guts to drop the gloves with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/search\/search.fcgi?pid=martima02,martima01&amp;search=Matt+Martin&amp;utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-02-19_hr\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Matt Martin<\/a> in front of 79 thousand people says a lot. It is a well-earned Broadway Hat, to say the least.)<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">What a night for this one. ?\u2764\ufe0f <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/oXf4vRRVGP\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/oXf4vRRVGP<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 New York Rangers (@NYRangers) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/NYRangers\/status\/1759393174328430787?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">February 19, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><em>Main photo by: Dennis Schneidler-USA TODAY Sports<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>After their Stadium Series showdown at MetLife Stadium, the New York Rangers remain perfect in outdoor games with a record of 5-0-0. With the odds far in their favour at one point in time, New York revived their old, reliable &#8220;no quit&#8221; mentality and defeated the New York Islanders 6-5 in overtime. Sunday&#8217;s win is [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4861,"featured_media":437739,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2,4547,17,14,4548],"tags":[782,1513,3669,4035,371,1547,1252],"class_list":["post-437724","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-hockey","category-islanders","category-rangers","category-nhl","tag-artemi-panarin","tag-chris-kreider","tag-erik-gustafsson","tag-igor-shesterkin","tag-mika-zibanejad","tag-peter-laviolette","tag-vincent-trocheck"],"modified_by":"Dan Mount, Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/437724","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4861"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=437724"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/437724\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/437739"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=437724"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=437724"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=437724"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}