Not every game can be as riveting as the Rangers’ overtime win over the Flames on Monday, but the Blueshirts didn’t need anything exciting to secure another two points over the Canucks on Wednesday night.
They defended a one-goal lead for a majority of the night in a 4-3 victory over Vancouver at Madison Square Garden to pick up their third win in a row. The Rangers did their thing against a team ranked seventh to last in the NHL, in a game that lacked energy compared to the one on Monday.
The Canucks never let the Rangers get comfortable. Toward the end of the second period, J.T. Miller forced a turnover through some aggressive forechecking before the Canucks forward found Vasily Podkolzin off the bench for a wonky shot that deflected off Artemi Panarin’s stick and in to cut the Rangers’ lead to 3-2.
Even after Mika Zibanejad tipped in a Jacob Trouba shot from the top of the zone toward the end of the third period for a 4-2 lead, Canucks star Elias Pettersson zoomed down the ice and buried one past Rangers goalie Igor Shesterkin just 10 seconds later to keep his team within striking distance.

The Rangers were able to stand their ground, however, in the final seconds.
Filip Chytil remained scalding hot, extending his goal streak to five straight games with a tally in the first period. Taking a feed from Kaapo Kakko, who battled behind the Canucks’ net to make the pass, Chytil backhanded the puck past goalie Spencer Martin to give the Rangers a 2-0 lead 8:31 into the game.
The goal was Chytil’s 11th since Jan. 3, which is tied for the third most in the NHL over that span. His current five-game scoring tear also has tied his career-long streak, which he set Nov. 12-21, 2018.


Skating in their fifth game in a row together, all member of the Kid Line made their presence felt. In addition to Chytil’s goal, Alexis Lafreniere notched one by way of good positioning. Trouba’s slapper from the top of the zone deflected off Lafreniere and in for a 3-1 lead in the second period.
The Rangers needed that third goal to keep Vancouver at arm’s length, but the visitors capitalized on their opportunities when they needed to. After the Rangers took a 2-0 lead less than halfway through the opening frame, the Canucks’ Quinn Hughes skated with ease around two-thirds of the home team’s fourth unit — caught in a change — before dishing to Conor Garland, who wristed one past Shesterkin.
That sequence foreshadowed the rest of night for the Rangers’ fourth line, which struggled with turnovers. The trio of Will Cuylle, Jake Leschyshyn and Sammy Blais barely received any ice time, the same as every other fourth-line combo the Rangers have deployed this season.
Source: New York Post