The Rangers closed the curtain on the spectacle that was this Stadium Series weekend at MetLife Stadium with a comeback show for the ages.
If the tri-state area didn’t hear the celebration from their two six-on-four power-play goals in the final five minutes of regulation that forced overtime, Artemi Panarin’s puck-stealing individual effort and finish less than 10 seconds into the extra period sent an eruption throughout the stadium that had to have been heard by all within a 10-mile radius.
“Deafening,” said Chris Kreider, who scored the first of the Rangers’ two man-advantage goals in the third period Sunday en route to an enthralling 6-5 overtime win over the Islanders.
It wasn’t a make-or-break game for the Rangers on Feb. 18, but it was the first time they had seen the Islanders in the regular season since Dec. 22, 2022.
In such a setting, the Rangers found a way to succeed.
Sitting on the outside looking in at the wild-card spots, the Islanders were desperate to succeed.
And that is how this one went during a late afternoon and evening that served as an homage to both fan bases, the elite players that both fandoms claim make them the best and the teams that represent the height of both franchises’ success.
Members of the Islanders’ four-time Stanley Cup-winning dynasty waved to the masses.
Members of the Rangers’ beloved 1994 Stanley Cup-winning team, and legendary goalie Henrik Lundqvist, showed their appreciation.
Rangers fans got to collectively boo Denis Potvin in the flesh for the first time in 36 years.
Islanders fans got to revel in watching their team hang five goals on Igor Shesterkin, which provided nearly 56 minutes of belief that they were going to win this one.
The fifth one could’ve been a backbreaker for a Rangers team that lost Ryan Lindgren simultaneously.
Noah Dobson’s shot from the top of the zone was deflected by Jonny Brodzinski right to the stick of Alexander Romanov, who buried it, pumped his fist and slid to one knee all in one fluid motion.
The follow-through of an earlier shot from Romanov smashed Lindgren right in the face and left the Rangers’ defenseman bleeding on the ice in the corner as the goal was scored.
But the Isles scrambled in the final half of the third period, handing the Rangers three power plays over that span.
Bringing on the extra skater for the six-on-four edge, the Rangers were able to force overtime on goals from Kreider and Mika Zibanejad.
“It was just in the nick of time,” Kreider said of the power play’s 3-for-5 performance, which marked the most man-advantage goals they’ve scored in a game since Oct. 28. “Needed to come through and provide a spark and generate some chances and really find some goals. Big for us.”
The primarily blue-clad crowd were behind the Blueshirts as the New York hockey legends of yesteryear, Mark Messier and Bryan Trottier, dropped the ceremonial puck between Rangers captain Jacob Trouba and Islanders captain Anders Lee at center ice.
MetLife may be home to the Jets and Giants, who both had players in attendance, but the Rangers looked right at home through the first couple of minutes.
Erik Gustafsson unloaded a bullet shot from the top of the zone, which grazed Isles goalie Ilya Sorokin and went in, to mark the Rangers’ first shot of the game.
Right off the subsequent faceoff at center ice, Matt Rempe lived up to his reputation in his first ever NHL shift and pummeled Isles fourth-liner Matt Martin.
The towering 6-foot-8 ¹/₂ forward motioned for the crowd to get loud and they obliged.
That was all Rangers fans got to cheer through the remainder of the first period, however, as the Islanders rattled off three straight goals to cap the frame.
The latter two — Bo Horvat’s score off the rush and Mathew Barzal’s power-play goal — came in the span of 26 seconds to reward the Isles for their hustle with a 3-1 lead by the first intermission.
The Rangers never quite went away, with Vincent Trocheck notching two goals in the second period to make it a one-goal game going into the final frame.
“It felt like a playoff environment,” said Trocheck, who played in his first career outdoor game. “I think obviously 80,000 people help that, but two New York teams, a little bit of a rivalry, having that in February is pretty cool. It was a wild experience.”
