NEW YORK — The Rangers haven’t looked good in probably a month, since they dismantled the Carolina Hurricanes in Raleigh the night before the Super Bowl. But coming off a three-game road trip on which they went 2-0-1, they feel as though they are starting to find themselves.
“We haven't played our best hockey,’’ coach Gerard Gallant said at the morning skate Tuesday, before the Rangers opened a five-game homestand at Madison Square Garden against the Washington Capitals. “It's coming.’’
Mika Zibanejad had two goals, Patrick Kane played his best game as a Ranger, with a goal and an assist, and goaltender Igor Shesterkin made 28 saves as the Rangers started the homestand on the best note, beating the Capitals 5-3 before another full house at the Garden.
Up two goals heading into the third period, the Rangers had to sweat after Nic Dowd jammed in his own rebound to pull Washington within 4-3 at 11:48. But Jimmy Vesey’s backhand clearing attempt from inside his own blue line went into the empty net at the other end with 2:11 remaining to relieve the pressure.
On Thursday and Friday the Rangers will play their next two games against the Pittsburgh Penguins, who are chasing them for third place in the Metropolitan Division standings. Then they will play a fourth game in six nights on Sunday against the Nashville Predators.
They were decidedly underwhelming in the first period of all three games on the recent road trip, to Montreal, Buffalo and Pittsburgh, before rallying with strong third periods in each game. But against the Capitals Tuesday, the Rangers got off to the fast start they’ve been looking for.
They jumped out to an 11-0 advantage in shots on goal in the first period, and a 1-0 lead, on Zibanejad’s first goal at 4:09, before the Caps got their first shot on goal, by Nicklas Backstrom at 8:18.
Washington went on a mini- spurt after that, getting five shots in a row on goal, and tying the score on a deflection by Nicolas Aube-Kubel off Matt Irwin's shot at 14:29, but Zibanejad untied it 16 seconds later with his second goal, on a play started by goalie Igor Shesterkin.
The goalie collected the puck after a dump-in and lifted it up high and deep, looking for Artemi Panarin breaking up the left wing. Washington defenseman Alexander Alexeyev tried to knock the puck down, but all he did was knock it to Panarin, who drove to the near post and backhanded a pass to Zibanejad in the slot. Zibanejad went forehand-backhand and roofed a shot over Washington goalie Darcy Kuemper to make it 2-1.
Then Kane made it 3-1 on a power play at 18:46 when he used Irwin as a screen and blasted a slapshot through a crowd and by Kuemper for his third goal in six games as a Ranger.
The Rangers ended up outshooting Washington 19-9 in the period, and when Jacob Trouba finished a slick, Kane-to-Vincent Trocheck-to-Trouba sequence for his seventh goal of the season at 4:09 of the second, it looked as though the Rangers were going to run away with the game.
But the Capitals were able to halt the Rangers’ momentum and began tilting the ice their way, eventually getting back on the scoreboard when Irwin fired a left point shot that deflected off the leg of Rangers defenseman Niko Mikkola and got behind Shesterkin to make it 4-2 at 12:08. After being dominated in the first, Washington outshot the Rangers 16-11 in the second.
