It was a special afternoon at Madison Square Garden when the New York Rangers took on the Vancouver Canucks, as the Rangers honored their broadcaster Sam Rosen, who announced this summer that he would retire after this season, with a “Salute to Sam.” Prior to the game, the Rangers honored Rosen—his current broadcast partner, Joe Micheletti, presented him with a jersey featuring the number 40, signifying the number of seasons Rosen spent with the team, and signed by the entire roster. Then, Rosen’s former broadcast partners, John Davidson and Phil Esposito, presented him with a golden microphone. After the ceremonies, the question was whether the Rangers could further honor him by winning an important game, as the season is winding down and the Rangers are running out of rope to make the playoffs. The Rangers would go on to win 5–3 and pick up a much-needed two points.
Game Recap
After the Rangers spent half of the period hemmed into their own zone and being outshot, putting up only one shot at the midway point of the period, Jonathan Lekkerimaki entered the zone and hit Dakota Joshua in stride, but Igor Shesterkin made a big save. The Canucks got the puck back, and Quinn Hughes took a shot that Shesterkin stopped before the Canucks got a third rebound and Joshua beat Shesterkin, giving the Canucks a 1–0 lead. The Rangers got scored on first again, and again, just seemed a step behind their opposition. The Rangers just have not started games well this season. With three minutes left in the period, the Rangers were being outshot 10–1, and the shot attempts were 22–6 in favor of Vancouver.
With time winding down in the period, the Rangers had their best shift of the game. It came from their fourth line and was motored by Matt Rempe, who kept the puck down low, and he and Brennan Othmann kept the puck in the offensive zone but could not find the back of the net. Boos rained down from the stands at Madison Square Garden as the first period ended 1–0 for the Canucks. Shesterkin had a terrific period, but he cannot do everything. Rempe had the only shot for the Rangers in the period. Quite frankly, they deserve the boos. They have lost two straight at home against teams—the Calgary Flames and Toronto Maple Leafs—that were coming off of back-to-backs that they had to travel after. Slow starts, no pressure, no shots. It is inexcusable. If this team does not turn their season around in the remaining 12 games, this summer will be very interesting on Broadway.
The Rangers got their second shot on goal early in the second period, and the crowd erupted as if they had scored. They didn’t. Shortly after, Nils Aman slashed Shesterkin, the Rangers ganged up on Aman, and Drew O’Connor and Sam Carrick were given coincidental roughing calls, causing the teams to skate 4-on-4. Five minutes into the period, Will Cuylle gave the Rangers their third shot on goal of the game, and the crowd roared again. Just after, Rempe was sent to the penalty box for holding, and the Rangers were sent to the penalty kill. The Rangers got a chance early on the penalty kill, but Kevin Lankinen made an easy save on K’Andre Miller. Kiefer Sherwood got a chance in front, and Shesterkin jumped him, getting called for roughing and giving Vancouver a two-man advantage for 11 seconds. Was it a bad penalty? Yes, pretty objectively. But good for Shesterkin—show some fight. The crowd agreed and broke out into an Igor chant. Jake DeBrusk was given a two-minute penalty for roughing, sending the teams back to 4-on-4.
With nine minutes left in the period, Alexis Lafrenière sent the puck in deep, and Braden Schneider took a shot from the blue line that was tipped in front by Adam Fox and beat Lankinen, tying the game at 1–1 and giving Othmann his first NHL assist. Referees T.J. Luxmore and Wes McCauley inexplicably missed a clear high stick in front of the net. The Rangers were not happy with the call—they should have been given a power play, but instead, the Canucks ended up with one after Will Cuylle was given four minutes for roughing and DeBrusk was given two. The Rangers bench was furious, and so were the broadcasters. The period ended 1–1 with the Rangers on the penalty kill.
Related: The Legend of Rangers’ Play-By-Play Announcer Sam Rosen: From the Booth to Our Hearts
The Rangers would kill off the remaining power play time. Right after, they broke out of the zone—Lafrenière got the puck to J.T. Miller behind the net, and he found Jonny Brodzinski in front, who put it off the post and in to give the Rangers a 2–1 lead. With eight and a half minutes left in the period, O’Connor took a shot that Shesterkin saved, but the rebound went right back to O’Connor, who beat Shesterkin up high to tie the game at two. Another defensive blunder leading to a goal against, which has been the story for the Rangers all season.
A minute later, the Rangers broke into the offensive zone. K’Andre Miller tried to throw a pass across the crease, and it deflected off Quinn Hughes’ skate and past Lankinen, giving the Rangers a 3–2 lead. On the next rush, Mika Zibanejad was clearly hooked through the neutral zone, but McCauley apparently didn’t see it, drawing more ire from the Rangers’ bench. Just after, with five minutes left, the Rangers let Brock Boeser walk to the front of the net, and he tied the game again.
Just 30 seconds later, Brodzinski took a drop pass from Lafrenière and buried his second of the game, giving the Rangers a 4–3 lead and Lafrenière his second assist. Vancouver pulled Lankinen, and after generating a ton of pressure, J.T. Miller fired the puck into the empty net, making it 5–3 Rangers, which is how the game would end. A massive win for the Rangers, and a special ending to a special day for Sam Rosen.
Rangers Takeaways
- The Rangers got an important two points. It was not a pretty game, but a win is a win. The Rangers are now tied with the Montreal Canadiens for the final wild card spot, but Montreal has two games in hand on the Rangers. The Rangers were outshot 39-12, but they managed to win the game. They will now head to the West Coast to play the Los Angeles Kings (March 25), the Anaheim Ducks (March 28), and the San Jose Sharks (March 29). These three games will be incredibly important for the Rangers season, they must win at least two of them, but winning all three would be huge for them.
- Now for the man of the day, Sam Rosen. Rangers fans view him as a family member. A man who has given 40 years to his and their favorite team. If there is anyone who deserved a win on his special day at Madison Square Garden, it is Rosen. Good on the Rangers for fighting back and winning the game for him. Now get to the playoffs so he can enjoy his job for a little longer, Rangers’ fans can hear him for a little longer, and maybe, just maybe, they can play well enough to give Sam one more memory that will last a lifetime.
