The Rangers saw two ends to the NHL’s spectrum in three days, beginning with the defending Stanley Cup champions and ending with the third-to-last team in the league last season.
After an uninspiring performance in a loss to the Panthers earlier in the week, the Blueshirts took care of business with a 2-1 win over the lowly Ducks on Saturday night at Madison Square Garden to get back into the win column.
Ryan Lindgren, skating in his third game back from a stint on injured reserve following jaw surgery in the preseason, broke the scoring seal after hunting on offense all night long.
Sweeping in a feed from Artemi Panarin from behind the Ducks net, the 26-year-old defenseman scored his first goal of the season at the 4:13 mark of the third period.
Panarin’s primary assist on the play extended his season-opening point streak to eight straight games.
Will Cuylle had to score twice to give the Rangers some insurance after his first was challenged and called back for offside on the play.
The Rangers third line generated some pressure around the Ducks net before Kaapo Kakko sent a feed/shot for Cuylle to tap in on the doorstep.
It was imperative that he did so and proved to be the game-winner, considering Ollen Zellweger cut the Rangers’ lead in half at the 12:38 mark of the final frame.
Rangers goalie Jonathan Quick had to be sharp — and he was.
The 38-year-old netminder had to make 31 saves on 32 shots to secure his second victory of the 2024-25 campaign.
It was a low-event first period that saw the Rangers spend a majority of the 20 minutes in the offensive zone.
Despite outshooting the Ducks, 18-7, and earning the first power play of the night, the Rangers couldn’t break through as Anaheim goalie Lukas Dostal came up with 18 saves.
Only four of those shots, however, were considered high danger, according to Natural Stat Trick.
The script flipped a bit in the second, however, with the Ducks racking up 17 shots in the middle frame compared to the Rangers’ seven.
Quick had to stand tall in net, especially on the Ducks’ first power play of the game.
Anaheim held the offensive zone pretty well with the man advantage, collecting four shots on goal.
Mason McTavish, in particular, was robbed twice by Quick on the Ducks power play.
Still, neither team was able to get on the scoreboard after 40 minutes.