With no one scoring in overtime, the Rangers took part in their first shootout of the season. The Devils scored in the second and third rounds, but were answered by Rangers goals both times. As the shootout extended beyond three rounds, Andreas Johnsson scored in the fifth round, but again the Rangers answered, with Strome converting to keep the game going. Finally, after Georgiev stopped Tomas Tatar (on a preposterous skate save) and Pavel Zacha, Chris Kreider — on only his second career shootout attempt — scored the winning shootout goal for the Rangers on a nice move to his backhand.
Kakko continued his strong game with a pretty shootout goal for the Rangers in the second round. Panarin had the Rangers’ other shootout tally, in the third round, to force “extra innings.”
Shootout:
Severson ✖️
Zibanejad ✖️
Bratt ✔️
Kakko ✔️
Dougie ✔️
Panarin ✔️
Mercer ✖️
Lafrenière ✖️
Johnsson ✔️
Strome ✔️
Tatar✖️
Rooney ✖️
Zacha✖️
Kreider ✔️
Perhaps this weekend can be something to build on for the Rangers — not so much in terms of their record (they are now 9-3-3), but more so in how they played. They generated 41 shots in each game (of course, the second game had an extra five minutes), and possessed the puck much more than they have for most of the season. Getting goals from both Lafrenière and Kakko is a great sign as well.
@New Jersey Devils
