Gerard Gallant thrilled with Rangers' two-game win streak
Rangers head coach Gerard Gallant looks on against the Islanders at UBS Arena on Wednesday. Credit: Jim McIsaac
Ten games into the season and coming off a sweep of their weekend road trip to Dallas and Arizona, the Rangers can feel pretty good about themselves.
As coach Gerard Gallant has said all along, the way the team is playing is more important than the results at this point. And the Rangers (5-3-2) are playing well as they prepare for Tuesday’s game against the surprising Philadelphia Flyers (5-2-1).
Gallant was especially pleased with what he saw Sunday at the Arizona Coyotes’ temporary new home, 5,026-seat Mullett Arena. In the second game of a back-to-back, the Rangers got a power-play goal late in the third period to author a 3-2 win and, according to Gallant, everyone played well.
“What I liked about our game [Sunday] was it was from everybody,’’ he said. “The third line, the fourth line, the so-called third-pair defense, I thought they all played well and did their roles, really.
“I mean, back-to-back games — this is a third one already, in 10 games — [and] they found a way. I thought we played a great first period. We really played a lot in their zone. And then after that, [Arizona] took it to us a little bit. But overall, I thought we played a good solid game, from everybody.’’
The stars did their thing. Mika Zibanejad scored the game-winner against Arizona and Artemi Panarin had a goal and two assists. The power play, which had entered the trip on a 1-for-14 skid, produced three goals in eight chances against Dallas and Arizona.
The Rangers also got big goals from unlikely sources on the trip, with Zac Jones scoring his first NHL goal against Dallas — it proved to be the game-winner — and Julien Gauthier scoring an insurance goal 19 seconds after Jones’ goal to help secure a 6-3 win.
Igor Shesterkin, though he looked a little scrambly at times and less like the dominant goaltender he was last season, played both ends of the back-to-back and made the saves he had to make.
Shesterkin last played back-to-back games in his rookie season of 2019-20. “He looked great,’’ Gallant said. “We might do it again someday. You never know.’’
Before Sunday’s game, Gallant said he wanted third-year forward Alexis Lafreniere to “get some more confidence [and] score some more goals.’’ Lafreniere scored the first goal of the game, driving to the back post and tapping in a cross-ice pass from Panarin.
“It was perfect. He was right in there,’’ Gallant said. “So good to see him score. He was pressing a little bit.’’
“It was a nice play by Bread [Panarin],’’ Lafreniere said. “When you play with guys like that, you just go to the net and things happen. And you know, he found me. I just drove back door.’’
Panarin was celebrating his 31st birthday Sunday, and Lafreniere was asked if his goal was his gift to Panarin. He laughed and said: “I mean, it’s more of a gift from him to me.’’
Colin Stephenson covers the Rangers for Newsday. He has spent more than two decades covering the NHL and just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.
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