There is no rear view attached to the Rangers as they thunder into the stretch on the playoff bubble, scratching for points that will ensure a return to the postseason where the slate truly will be fresh.
“We are where we are and we can’t change how we got here,” Brian Boyle said after last night’s 3-2 shootout victory at the Garden over the Maple Leafs, in which Mats Zuccarello was the only man to convert. “We can only control what we can control and do whatever we can to win.”
Where the Rangers are is in a numerical three-way tie for sixth place with the Senators and Islanders while two points clear of the ninth-place Jets. The Rangers and Islanders each have eight games remaining, including Saturday’s showdown at the Coliseum, while Ottawa has nine to play and Winnipeg has seven to go.
“It was such an important game, I don’t think it’s that hard to stay focused,” said Henrik Lundqvist, who responded with a royal effort following Monday’s once-in-a-blue-moon mediocre performance in Monday’s 4-3 defeat in Toronto. “This is a time where you have to be desperate.”
The Rangers cleaned up many of the defensive zone follies that had pockmarked their game on Monday as they still had trouble dealing with the Maple Leafs’ speed and quickness. The Blueshirts were reasonably strong on the puck in the offensive end and had shifts at a time where they were able to pin Toronto, thus relieving much of the pressure in their own end.
Indeed, there was a stretch of 24:33 beginning at 3:32 of the second period during which the Maple Leafs did not get a shot on goal. Problem was that when Toronto did finally break through, it was Phil Kessel getting his second of the night and fourth this week against the Rangers to tie the match 2-2 at 8:05 of the third by finishing a two-on-one.
“We didn’t have the numerous breakdowns we did on Monday, and when we did, Henrik was there, as he’s been all year,” said Ryan McDonagh, who had sneaked one through from up top for a 2-1 lead at 16:43 of the second. “The save he made in overtime was just humongous.
“I think after that he, himself, wanted to make sure we got that second point in the shootout.”
The “humongous” save in OT came at 1:45 against Nazem Kadri, when The King managed to get his blocker on the young center’s try from the slot. That was followed by three saves in the skills competition.
“We lost the last shootout [1-0 in the competition in Pittsburgh on Friday] and we can’t afford to lose too many,” said Lundqvist, who has allowed six goals in 25 attempts. “I take a lot of pride in [shootouts] and I’m a big part of whether we get that extra point or not.
“I feel responsible if we lose, so it’s important for me to step up.”
Coach John Tortorella reunited the McDonagh-Dan Girardi first pair after splitting his top two healthy defensemen the previous seven games, and that made a difference through the games that was alternately dull and electric.
Midway through the second period, Tortorella broke up the lines he’d used in the four-plus games since the trade deadline, and then he juggled them again for the third period.
The changes notably took Ryan Callahan away from Derek Stepan and Rick Nash, placing the captain on a line with Derick Brassard while Zuccarello moved up, Boyle got more ice and Brad Richards and Ryane Clowe shifted down.
At the end of the night, the Rangers had moved up. Nothing is decided, nothing is clinched, but with eight games to do, destiny is theirs to control.