It was only a matter of time until the Rangers reclaimed a home-ice advantage — but they’ll be the first ones to admit the abnormally long wait tested everyone’s patience.
A franchise-worst streak of futility and losing at Madison Square Garden mercifully ended at seven games on Monday night, as the Rangers’ offense erupted in a welcomed 6-3 win over the Predators. Call it a performance nearly five weeks in the making.
“It’s huge, obviously couldn’t be happier for the group,” Rangers coach Mike Sullivan said. “They’d been pressing for this for a number of games. I said to them this morning, that’s going to be our challenge tonight. We’ve got to embrace it and make sure we help each other through this process. I thought the guys did a great job.”
The Rangers’ early-season home skid was confounding. They suffered five shutout losses during the seven-game stretch, and in the one game they produced an ample five goals, they fell in overtime by allowing six.
But a new-look lineup with reinforcements — Vincent Trocheck returned from injured reserve after missing 14 games and top prospect Gabe Perreault made his NHL debut — sparked much-needed production from the Rangers.
Artemi Panarin, who scored twice, was one of five different players to supply goals. Alexis Lafrenière added three points with one goal and two assists. Mika Zibanejad ignited the scoring surge midway through the first period and logged the most ice time.
Of course, the convincing win wasn’t blemish-free — each of the three goals Igor Shesterkin gave up were credited to one player, Matthew Wood. But the Rangers finally delivered an offensive explosion while donning the blue sweaters.
In one night, they doubled their season goals total at home. The mark now sits at 12.
“I was telling these guys from the outside that it looks like we’re playing great, but pucks just aren’t going in the net,” Trocheck said. “These guys care a lot. We know how much the fans care, how passionate they are. We want to win for them even more… It’s definitely a sigh of relief to get the first one out of the way.”
With the win, the Rangers improved to 8-7-2 (18 points), currently good for a fourth-place tie in the Metropolitan Division standings. Do the math, and games away from The Garden haven’t been an obstacle — they’re a robust 7-1-1 on the road with a plus-12 goal differential.
