Sometimes, the process and the game mean more than the results. The Rangers may have lost in overtime to Colorado, but they showed some of that swagger we haven’t seen in a while, tying the game with less than a minute remaining to secure that point. The Rangers battled hard for their point, getting yet another point in this week long gauntlet, making it five of six points with one more game against Vegas coming up later tonight.
Igor Shesterkin is returning to form after a mild slump in November, stopping 39 of 42 shots and was the Rangers best player yesterday. The Rangers in front of him weren’t bad, it’s just Colorado is that good and can generate high danger chances seemingly at will. If anything, this game showed the Rangers need another piece up front to add to their firepower if they want to skate with Colorado. The Rangers held the Avs to “just” 15 high danger chances on 73 shot attempts throughout last night,
Conor Sheary may have silenced some very loud haters yesterday, finally breaking through for his first goal of the season, a pretty breakaway goal with Cale Makar on him. Sheary has hopefully changed some minds, getting off the schneid to add to his sneaky impressive motor and overall game. If the concern is he’s holding a spot from a kid, it’s already been disproven with Brett Berard sticking. If anything, the concern should be the deployment in the top six, which is a roster construction issue more than anything. He’s keeping Gabe Perreault’s spot warm.
You could tell by his celebration alone behind the net that Sheary was so relieved to finally get one in the goal column. We know he had the capability back on the cup winning Penguins teams, but for a small amount of time until Perreault is ready, Sheary can stay with Miller and Trocheck. That trio actually did really well in this game.
After a brutal start where whenever they pulled the goalie, they were scored on, this is now the second time this week that the Rangers have scored with their net empty. Perhaps a lot of October and November was poor luck after all. There’s a shift that’s occurred with this team, finally showcasing that never say die attitude we saw as recently as the 2024 playoffs. This team is becoming more and more fun to watch as the results are starting to match some of that early season defensive process.
When Adam Fox was placed on LTIR after that abysmal loss to Tampa., and you looked ahead and saw Dallas, Ottawa, Colorado, Vegas as the next four games, this fanbase was justifiably ready to throw in the towel. After this week, the Rangers have regained our attention. With a big point against the two-loss Avs, the Rangers have taken control of this gauntlet week. One more game against Vegas remains.