Kreider leads Rangers to high-scoring win over Sharks
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[October 18, 2016]
NEW YORK -- General manager Jeff
Gorton spent the offseason stockpiling forwards, most of them known
for their speed, to reinforce a bottom-six group that had gone from
strength to weakness in recent years for the New York Rangers.
On Monday night, that depth and speed throughout the lineup helped
thwart one of the quicker teams in the NHL.
Seven players -- six forwards, including newcomer left wingers Jimmy
Vesey and Michael Grabner -- scored as the Rangers overwhelmed the
San Jose Sharks 7-4 at Madison Square Garden.
It wasn't a complete cakewalk, as the Sharks scored three times in
the third period and cut a 5-2 lead to 5-4 with 4:29 remaining, but
Mats Zuccarello and Grabner buried empty-net goals in a wild yet
impressive victory.
Vesey's first NHL goal with 7:23 remaining proved to be the winner.
"It was definitely just pure joy," said Vesey, the college free
agent that was courted by many teams during the offseason. "I think
I expressed it a little bit on the ice. I think I gave two fist
pumps and I just couldn't be happier to get that one out of the
way."
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The Rangers' team speed allowed coach Alain Vigneault to worry less
about matchups than he normally would, as he said afterward the only
matchup he looked to get was to have Mika Zibanejad's line on the
ice against Joe Thornton's line. The pressure from the Rangers
(2-1-0) was relentless and having four lines that can skate well was
a big advantage against the Sharks (2-1-0).
"It was hard through camp to see what we had," said Rangers
defenseman Marc Staal, who scored the game's first goal. "We had a
lot of different guys in the lineup. I thought right off the bat,
our first game, we had that feeling of being quick and playing fast
and we have been the last three games. Tonight was no different."
Before the seven-goal third period that transformed the final score
into something out of the 1980s, the teams weren't all that far
apart through 50 minutes.
Sharks center Logan Couture answered Staal's first-period goal with
a late 5-on-3 goal that sent the teams to the intermission knotted
at 1. Sharks goaltender Martin Jones, who made 22 saves, allowed a
pair of somewhat soft second-period goals to left wingers Rick Nash
and Chris Kreider as the Rangers grabbed a 3-1 lead through 40
minutes.
Defenseman Brent Burns scored his first of two third-period goals at
the 9:13 mark to make it a 3-2 game, but that was just the start of
the roller-coaster ride. Left winger Kevin Hayes and Vesey scored 21
seconds apart to pull the Rangers ahead 5-2, but Burns and center
Joe Pavelski scored 1:34 apart to put the pressure back on the
Rangers, who responded with two empty-net goals to finally put the
Sharks away.
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![](../images/101816pics/sports67.jpg)
Rangers left wing Chris Kreider (20) controls the puck during the
second period against the San Jose Sharks at Madison Square Garden.
Mandatory Credit: Adam Hunger-USA TODAY Sports
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"We got what we deserved tonight," Sharks coach Peter DeBoer said.
"You have to win all kinds of different ways. It would have nice to
pick up some points and stick around, but I think the team that
competed the hardest won, and that's the way it should be."
"It's one of those games," said Pavelski, who had a goal and three
assists. "We had it early, then we didn't. They get ahead, then we
get back a little bit. We weren't good enough. We were chasing it a
little bit too much. Every time we fought back and got close,
something just broke down."
Rangers goaltender Antti Raanta made 27 saves in his first start of
the season and felt the pressure once the Sharks cut the lead to 5-4
on Pavelski's goal.
"It was 5-3, then it was 5-4 and heavy panic inside the goalie's
head," Raanta said. "Even though they came so close, I think still
it was a really good 60 minutes. There are some things we can do
better but you think about the team we played against and they were
in the Stanley Cup Final (last season), so we have to give a lot of
credit to the guys who were doing a great job and scoring (seven)
goals."
NOTES: The Sharks scratched LW Micheal Haley, D Dylan DeMelo and C
Ryan Carpenter. ... The Sharks used the same lineup as in their
first two games. ... Rangers LW Michael Grabner played his 400th
career NHL game. ... The Rangers were without D Dan Girardi (hip
flexor) and D Kevin Klein (back spasms). Klein is expected to
practice Tuesday and could make his season debut against the Detroit
Red Wings on Wednesday. Girardi is day to day. ... Rangers LW Pavel
Buchnevich missed his first game with back spasms. ... Rangers D
Dylan McIlrath and C Josh Jooris made their season debuts.
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