NEW YORK _ With the game-winning goal and two assists in the third period, Mika Zibanejad rescued the Rangers from a potentially shattering defeat at the hands of the Vegas Golden Knights at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday.
Against a fourth-string goalie making his first NHL start, and against an expansion team in the second game of a back-to-back on the road, the Blueshirts trailed by two goals after 40 minutes but wound up with a 6-4 win.
Zibanejad's goal, a power-play wrister from the left side with Chris Kreider screening netminder Maxime Lagace, capped a three-goal rally to lift the Blueshirts to the unlikely victory and raised their record to 4-7-2. Michael Grabner's empty-netter with 1:14 left sealed it.
The Rangers' rally started at the two-minute mark of a four-minute power play for tripping. Zibanejad threaded a diagonal pass to Kreider, driving hard to the left post, for a redirect that trimmed the lead to 4-3 at 5:31. The push continued, and a rattled Legace overcommitted beyond the crease. Zibanejad found Pavel Buchnevich alone in front for the tie and his fourth goal in the last three games as the crowd awakened from its slumber.
The pattern of the Rangers being unable to play a full 60 minutes with intensity _ fall behind in the first period, fight back, only to lose _ seemed as if it was about to continue.
The defense continued to be sloppy, even with coach Alain Vigneault deploying two of three different pairs. The offense continued to eschew shots and overpass and the power play couldn't get a timely goal.
Lagace, who surrendered four goals on 11 shots in his NHL debut in relief Monday night against the Islanders, allowed another on the first shot he saw. David Desharnais, from behind the net, found Jimmy Vesey in front with a pass at 2:45. That lead didn't last long.
Alex Tuch burst around the backskating Steven Kampfer and ex-Ranger Oscar Lindberg lifted in Tuch's rebound as Henrik Lundqvist scrambled to get across the crease at 5:22.
While the Rangers failed to get many shots on Lagace, who covered up any loose pucks in the crease, Lundqvist made a string of saves at the halfway mark of the period on Reilly Smith and Cody Eakin.
With Tuch in the box for hooking at 16:43, the Rangers produced just two shots on Lagace, and Zibanejad, alone between the circles, fired wide.
Back at even strength, Lundqvist kicked out a rebound of Jonathan Marchessault's shot right to Smith, who scored with 39 seconds left for a 2-1 lead as the Blueshirts were outshot 14-9. They have given up 21 goals in first periods this season
Lagace stopped Mats Zuccarello's one-timer in the first 90 seconds of second, but Zuccarello managed to tie the game after a pass from Kevin Hayes bounced off Rick Nash to him in front of the crease at 1:29.
But the Rangers cracked again. After failing to clear the zone, Smith countered with his second of the game at 7:06 after Lundqvist dove to cover a tip in front. Smith poked it from Lundqvist's glove on the ice, and scored easily to restore the lead as the Knights continued to have far too much space and time in the Blueshirts zone.
J.T. Miller hit the post, and David Perron beat Lundqvist on a penalty shot after Grabner's hook on his breakaway with 1:01 left and it looked bleak. Instead, it was a surprise treat on Halloween night.
