This one ended just about the only way it could for the Rangers — on a sloppy move that teetered on disaster.
But it was 20-year-old rookie J.T. Miller winning it in a shootout for the Blueshirts last night at the Garden, 2-1 over the Hurricanes, snapping a three-game losing streak with a move that was less artful than it was effective.
“I almost dunked it in the corner, so it felt even better to see it go in,” a smiling Miller said after his attempted backhand in the third run of the skills competition bounced over his stick to his forehand, where he managed to sneak it by Dan Ellis and send the crowd of 17,200 cheering out of the building for what feels like the first time in weeks.
“We worked really hard to come back in that game,” Miller said, “and we deserved it as a team.”
Henrik Lundqvist (29 saves) stopped the two chances the Hurricanes had, and Rick Nash netted one on the Rangers’ first attempt — but from the second period forward, the result seemed inevitable.
“We were a different team in the second and third, and overtime,” coach John Tortorella said. “We generated [scoring chances] and played very well in those three periods.”
Added Miller: “In the second period, as a team, we outplayed them. We just carried that over to the third.”
The Rangers (14-12-2) were coming off a horrid 1-3-0 road trip that saw them fall out of the playoff picture after scoring just two goals in the final three games. So as they came out for this first period and watched Eric Staal score his 14th of the season with less than a minute to play in the frame, breaking a scoreless tie, the sound of the tombstone engraver was as audible as the boos from the home fans.
“I don’t think we spent enough time in their end in the first period,” said captain Ryan Callahan, who crashed to the net midway through the second and made it easy for Derek Stepan to corral the puck and net a turnaround wrist shot, tying it 1-1. “Once we did that, I thought we built off it and came in behind it each shift.”
Included in that wave of offense was the reunited mega-line of Marian Gaborik, Brad Richards and Nash, who were together for the first time in weeks and, although kept off the scoreboard, were assertive in generating chances.
“Lines always change here, [there’s] not a whole lot of time to acclimate,” said Gaborik, who had four shots on goal, but has only scored one in the past 15 games. “Torts is the coach, he changes lines quite a bit. I’m used to it, I’m not complaining. Hopefully all the other lines stay together [because] that means we’re doing well.”
For all the good that can be taken away from the win, the Rangers are still ninth in the conference, behind the Southeast Division-leading Hurricanes (now in third place at 15-11-2) as well as the Devils, who are in a three-way tie for sixth and whom they face tonight in Newark.
With the recent experience of how fast things can go south — the Rangers had won five of six before the losing streak — the team is not about to take anything for granted.
“Obviously the two points is the big thing,” said Callahan. “But on top of that, we have to go to New Jersey and get another two points. It means nothing if we don’t back it up.”