REGARDS TO B’WAY
Rangers get needed win in Stepan’s return to Garden
On the night Derek Stepan made his return to the Garden, the Rangers might’ve found at least a near-term solution for their void down the middle while bagging a badly needed win.
Boo Nieves looked the part Thursday night, notching three assists in his season debut after being called up two days earlier as the Rangers topped the winless Coyotes, 5-2.
“You’d have to say this was a challenging game in the sense that you’ve got to think they might be due here to win one,” Alain Vigneault said, “and we need the points.”
In the team’s previous two games, Vigneault had dressed seven defensemen as he only had three natural centers at his disposal. The 23-year-old Nieves made an instant impact on a line with Pavel Buchnevich and Michael Grabner, each of whom had two goals.
“I don’t think every game’s gonna be like this,” said Nieves, who made his second-ever NHL appearance.
Nieves was composed in his own end and made an impressive one-handed pass to set Grabner up at 5:59 of the second, putting the Blueshirts (3-6-2) back up by two just 46 seconds after former Ranger Anthony Duclair scored for Arizona (0-9-1.)
“A little spark there, for sure,” Ryan McDonagh said of Nieves, who started the season in Hartford after Filip Chytil won an opening-night spot. “We knew he was
gonna make a lot of things happen in the offensive zone, pushing the pace. He did a great job in the d-zone too. That’s what was awesome, winning battles, being in the right position so he can come out clean like that. That’s what’s encouraging to me too is not only the plays he’s making offensively, but the positioning and smart plays in our d-zone.”
Chris Kreider finished off a no-look, behind-the-back pass to open the scoring. Ondrej Pavelec (27 saves) earned his first win as a Ranger.
The Rangers played a video tribute for Stepan at 15:06 of the first that featured several of his most memorable moments, beginning with the hat trick he scored in his first career game and ending with his overtime winner from Game 7 of the second round in 2015 against Washington.
While receiving a standing ovation, Stepan tapped his chest and raised his stick to salute the crowd.
“It was probably one of the hardest things I have had to do in my career, playing this game,” Stepan said. “I thought it took me a period-and-a-half to get going a little bit. Mentally I wasn’t sharp, it was just hard to stay focused. Like I said, it was one of the hardest things I had to do and I’m glad that it’s over with and I can move on now.”
There was also a first-period tribute for Rick Nash, who played his 1,000th NHL game.
“Before the game, I told the boys I really wanted this one and we needed our best effort,” Nash said. “It’s a special night I’ll never forget.”