Rangers blow two-goal lead in third period, lose in overtime to Senators
Ottawa Senators' Dylan Cozens looks for a deflection chance between New York Rangers goaltender Igor Shesterkin and Braden Schneider. Credit: AP/Justin Tang
OTTAWA, Ontario – The Rangers had a two-goal lead and were 10 minutes from a two-point afternoon against a key rival in the wild-card playoff race.
And then, poof, they it turned into a 4-3 overtime loss to the Senators at Canadian Tire Centre on Saturday – essentially a three-point swing in the standings.
“That’s disappointing,” coach Peter Laviolette said at the start of his 47-second postgame news conference.
With a regulation victory, the Rangers would have been alone in the first of two Eastern Conference wild-card spots, and the Senators would have been outside of one.
Instead, Ottawa (32-25-5) now is alone in the first wild-card position with 69 points. The Rangers (31-26-6) are tied with Columbus at 68, but the Blue Jackets (30-24-8) have the edge for the second wild card as they have played one fewer game.
This sort of jockeying will continue for the next several weeks. Speaking of which, the Rangers’ next game is at home on Sunday against . . . Columbus!
“We don’t have time for being frustrated too long,” Artemi Panarin said. “We have a pretty important game tomorrow. We have to be ready.”
The game-winner came 33 seconds into overtime on a goal by Senators captain Brady Tkachuk.
The Rangers had possession of the puck, but K’Andre Miller’s attempted pass to J.T. Miller in the defensive zone missed badly. The Senators’ Tim Stutzle picked up the errant puck and found Tkachuk skating alone into the slot, from which he beat Igor Shesterkin.
The game seemed to be in hand for the Rangers when Panarin’s goal at 7:08 of the third period made it 3-1. But Ottawa had been putting tremendous pressure on the Rangers – eventually outshooting them, 37-23 – and it eventually paid off.
First, Ridly Greig poked the puck past a sprawled Shesterkin at 10:16, just as a power play expired, and it was 3-2.
Then came the crusher, when Michael Amadio tied it at 17:08. Several Rangers were in front of the net but none could clear it, and when Shesterkin failed to cover up the puck, Amadio shot it past him.
“It was bouncing around,” Laviolette said. “We had everyone down there and it was bouncing around. Need to do a better job.”
Defenseman Carson Soucy, who scored the game’s first goal in his Rangers debut, said, “That last goal is obviously tough, just kind of a bouncing puck that squirts through.”
Soucy scored at 8:37 of the first period. He took a pass from Panarin and shot from the left side at Senators goalie Linus Ullmark.
It initially appeared Ullmark had made the stop. But the Rangers’ Alexis Lafreniere was skating behind the net, saw what had happened and pointed at the puck.
Sure enough, it had squirted between Ullmark’s legs and slowly crossed the goal line. The goal was awarded after a video review.
Soucy at first had no idea he had scored. “Obviously, I wasn’t too pleased with my shot originally,” he said, “but just trying to get pucks on the net.”
The 6-5, 208-pound Soucy, 30, arrived in a trade with the Canucks on Thursday for a third-round pick in the 2025 draft. Laviolette said before the game he would pair Soucy with Zac Jones, with Calvin de Haan scratched.
Why that pairing? “I like the way that the other pairs have played, so I’m going to leave those pairs alone,” Laviolette said.
Soucy waived his no-trade clause to join the Rangers. He said he was attracted by the fact the Rangers wanted him, and by playing in New York and at Madison Square Garden.
The Rangers made it 2-0 at 3:55 of the second when Mika Zibanejad scored, but the Senators answered 11 seconds later when Tkachuk redirected a long shot by Nick Jensen by Shesterkin.
“We were in control of the game, and we didn’t finish it,” Laviolette said. “It’s disappointing to leave a point on the table and not get the win.”
Said Zibanejad, “We needed two points and we didn’t get it today, so get back and get to work tomorrow and get two points tomorrow.”
Notes & quotes: Chris Kreider returned to action after missing six games with an upper-body injury. He was the left wing on the third line and had one shot in 15 minutes of ice time . . . The Rangers had another in a recent series of too-many-men-on-the-ice penalties. “Can’t have it,” Laviolette said. What is the solution? “Have better execution.” . . . The Senators honored retiring MSG Networks announcer Sam Rosen during a break in the first period. Ottawa’s Shane Pinto, who grew up in Franklin Square, appeared in the tribute video to say, “I enjoyed you a lot growing up and I just wish you all the best in the future.”
Neil Best first worked at Newsday in 1982, returned in 1985 after a detour to Alaska and has been here since, specializing in high schools, college basketball, the NFL and most recently sports media and business.
