RANGERS COME ALIVE IN THIRD
Top Blues with three goals in final period
K’Andre Miller, Alexis Lafrenière and Chris Kreider scored in the third period as the Rangers rallied to beat the Blues, 6-4, on Monday night at the Garden.
Vincent Trochek notched a goal and an assist, and Braden Schneider and
Adam Fox also scored for the Rangers, who won for the second time in seven games (2-4-1) and snapped a fourgame skid (0-3-1) at home. Artemi Panarin assisted on two goals and Lafrenière assisted on one. Igor Shesterkin stopped 25 shots.
Jordan Kyrou scored a goal and added an assist, and Pavel Buchnevich, Vladimir Tarasenko and Ryan O’Reilly also scored for the Blues, who have lost six of seven since a seven-game winning streak. Jordan Binnington stopped 18 shots.
St. Louis led, 4-3, entering the third period before Miller tied it with his first goal of the season at 4:48.
Lafrenière’s go-ahead goal came at 8:16 when he tipped a long shot by Mika Zibanejad past Binnington for his fourth goal of the season.
After Trocheck took at hooking penalty with 6:21 remaining, Kreider scored on a shorthanded breakaway 25 seconds later. Kreider’s 13th goal of the season sparked a loud celebration of relief from the crowd at Madison Square Garden, where the Rangers had squandering leads in three of the four defeats.
The Blues had won all seven games this season when leading after two periods.
The Rangers opened the scoring when Schneider fired a puck past Binnington with 2:46 left in the first period. It was his third of the season.
The Blues tied it 50 seconds later as former Ranger Buchnevich fired a shot that bounced off Fox’s skate and in for his ninth. It was the second game back at the Garden for Buchnevich, who was traded to St. Louis in July 2021 after parts of five seasons with the Rangers.
Buchnevich has 14 points in his last 10 games (eight goals and six assists) while the player the Rangers got in exchange — Sammy Blais — has yet to score a goal in 38 games for the Blueshirts.
The Rangers went ahead, 2-1, with 28 seconds remaining in the first on a power-play goal by Fox, his seventh of the season.
Tarasenko then tied it again for the Blues just 12 seconds into the second. It was his seventh.
Trocheck put the Rangers ahead, 3-2, at 1:07 with his ninth goal.
Kyrou scored on a power play to tie it at 11:04 with his teambest 10th, and O’Reilly gave St. Louis its first lead of the night with his eighth 91 seconds later. Kyrou assisted on O’Reilly’s goal, giving him 18 points in his last 15 games.
The Blues visit the Islanders tonight while the Rangers next play Wednesday night in Las Vegas.