Rangers edged by the Ducks on Chris Kreider’s return

Fell in the third period

New York, NY- The New York Rangers welcomed back their former players from last season as Jacob Trouba and Chris Kreider returned with the Anaheim Ducks to Madison Square Garden and waved to the crowd after their highlight videos were shown on Garden Vision. It was a hard-fought game, but in the final period, the Ducks edged the Rangers and added two more as they won by a final score of four to one.

Mika Zibanejad is a Healthy Scratch

Rangers head coach Mike Sullivan scratched Mika Zibanejad for tonight’s game due to his missing a team meeting. Zibanejad was made an example of what not to do when you are required to make a team meeting, either at the MSG Training facility or at the Garden. While Mika’s presence will be missed, he took his punishment like a professional.

The return of Chris Kreider

With the Anaheim Ducks coming to the Garden, this was the scheduled return of Chris Kreider and Jacob Trouba. After being drafted by the Rangers and playing 12 seasons since he began in the 2012 NHL Playoffs, scoring against the Ottawa Senators in the first round, then a breakaway goal against the Washington Capitals in the second round at MSG.

His Rangers totals are 860 games, 324 goals, 255 assists for 579 points. He tied Camille Henry for the most Power Play Goals scored by a Ranger with 116, and has also scored 13 short-handed goals while doing it four times in two seasons.

The Return of Jacob Trouba

After being traded from the Winnipeg Jets to the Rangers, Jacob Trouba spent five-plus seasons with the Rangers before being traded in the middle of last year to Anaheim. He was given the Captain’s C on his sweater in the 2022-23 season for the previous three years, including his last year when he got traded. Trouba played in 364 games, scoring 31 goals and 105 assists for 136 points. Seven Power Play Goals and one Short-handed goal.

We will never forget the big thumping hits he gave to his opponents, and the one season during a game at the Garden where Trouba delivered two solid, clean hits on the Calgary Flames as he took down Dillon Dube in the first period, then Nazem Kadri in the second period.

An own goal gives the Ducks a lead

As the Rangers were trying to solve Anaheim Goaltender Lukas Dostal on the power play, the Ducks found a way to make a rush up the ice. Jacob Trouba cleared the puck out of the zone and gave Ryan Poehling a chance to breakout and attack the net. As he entered the zone, Poehling’s chance was stopped by Igor Shesterkin.

Then Jackson LaCombe trailed the play and took two whacks at the puck, and he was thwarted by Shesterkin, until the puck got behind him. Will Cuylle, who skated in to assist Shesterkin to keep the puck out, lost his footing and accidentally slid into the puck and underneath Shesterkin’s pads into the net at 7:18 of the second period Short Handed.

After a review, it counted

Alexis Lafreniere springs Artemi Panarin into a rush up the ice. He took a shot from the near side and hit the outside of the net. Got the rebound and saw Matthew Robertson at the far point. When Robertson took the shot, the puck deflected and fluttered toward the net. Somehow the puck went in, but it was waived off as it was originally looked to have been touched by a high stick from Vincent Trocheck.

There was a video review, and while looking at the replay. Trocheck never touched the puck; it was Dostal who tried to whack the puck away from the net, used his paddle to accidentally knock the puck out of mid air and into his own net for an own goal, and Robertson got credit for his second of the season and his NHL career at 16:18 of the second period.

Not a Power Play Goal, but it’s a lead

While the Rangers were doing very well killing the penalty, the Ducks were able to take the lead a second after the power play ended. Olen Zellweger made a hard pass to Beckett Sennecke down the near side. After he entered the Rangers’ zone, he made a quick pass to the middle of the ice, where Cutter Gauthier took the puck. Gauthier snapped a quick shot and beat Shesterkin at 5:51 of the third period.

Empty net and another for good measure

The Rangers pulled Shesterkin for the extra attacker inside the final minute of the third period, but they couldn’t muster a shot as the Ducks got the empty net goal as Gauthier scored his second of the game at 19:38, then a fourth goal came with Shesterkin back in net at 19:57 from Pavel Mintyukov. Four straight games earning a point ended, and a ten-game home winning streak against the Ducks also snapped.

Lukas Dostal was excellent

The Rangers played a strong game, but it was the goaltending of Lukas Dostal that thwarted the Rangers all night long. Several point-blank chances in the first and second periods stopped the Rangers from taking a lead all game. If he wasn’t on, then the Rangers would’ve had more goals in this game and taken the full two points.

“I thought we played pretty well for certainly the first two periods. We liked our game a lot. You know, five on five. I thought we defended hard. I thought we… We did a really good job of… trying to play on top of them. They certainly tried to play on top of us. That’s the type of game that it was going to be.

You know, we had some looks 5-on-5. Obviously, the difference in the game is special teams. They get one, we don’t. And then we give up one. on the power play. That, you know, that obviously… we don’t want to do. So at the end of the day, that’s the difference,” said Head Coach Mike Sullivan

ARTEMI PANARIN: Collected an assist on Matthew Robertson’s goal, earning him points in back-to-back games. He has tallied at least one point in six of his last seven games (3G-5A). His 23 assists this season are tied for the lead among Rangers skaters.

MATTHEW ROBERTSON: Scored the Rangers’ lone goal of the evening and has recorded points in back-to-back games (1G-2A). He has four points through his last four games (2G-2A).

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