A late power-play goal by Kaapo Kakko lifted the New York Rangers to their first win in six games, as they beat the visiting Montreal Canadiens 4-3 in a matinee on Saturday. With the score tied 3-3, Canadiens forward Kirby Dach took an ill-advised high-sticking double-minor, cutting Mika Zibanejad deep in the Rangers zone.
With time winding down, a falling/tripped up Joel Armia and Jake Evans couldn’t get the puck out, enabling the Rangers to capitalize. Rangers forward Will Cuylle, who facilitated Armia’s fall to the ice, eventually ended up with the puck on his stick. He then delivered a nifty backhand feed to Kakko, who slid it past Samuel Montembeault for the 4-3 game-winning goal at 19:36.
Related: Projected Lineups for the Canadiens vs Rangers – 11/30/24
It was something of a redemption story for Cuylle. He had been unable to get the puck out of his own zone on Nick Suzuki’s game-tying goal 5:30 earlier. Defenseman Lane Hutson kept it in, giving and going with Cole Caufield, who found Suzuki for the tip-in past Rangers goalie Jonathan Quick. Caufield had scored 10 minutes earlier to pull the Canadiens within one, after they had fallen behind 3-1, late goals in each frame and an underwhelming penalty kill that allowed three overall, ultimately doing the now 8-12-3 Habs in.
With the score tied 1-1, Vincent Trocheck deflected in an Alexis Lafreniere shot with just four seconds left in the first. Zibanejad also scored with less than three minutes to go in the second, before the Canadiens attempted to earn their first point(s) of the season after trailing after two periods in a game. They are no 0-10-0 under those circumstances, with one such game, a 7-2 defeat, coming Oct. 22 against the Rangers.
Considering the magnitude of that loss, there were positives the Canadiens could take away from this defeat. They kept things close, nearly completed an impressive comeback and actually held a late lead in shots on goal against an initial Stanley Cup contender, despite being near the bottom of the league in terms of expected goals percentage for (45.15%, ranked 29th, per MoneyPuck.com). As a result of the Dach penalty and the Rangers ending up with a late power play though, shots ended up at 28 apiece.
For their part, the Rangers got back into the win column. They had last won Nov. 19, 4-3 against the Vancouver Canucks. Both Chris Kreider and Filip Chytil returned to the lineup after extended absences. Canadiens defenseman Mike Matheson also returned after missing two games. His delay-of-game penalty led to a two-man advantage for the Rangers, leading to Artemi Panarin’s game-opening goal. Matheson got that one back later in the frame, setting the stage for all the late-goal and uncompleted-comeback theatrics that ensued.
The 13-9-1 Rangers next play on Monday, Dec. 2, hosting the New Jersey Devils. The Canadiens visit the Boston Bruins tomorrow in another matinee before returning home to face the New York Islanders on Tuesday, Dec. 3.
