3 Rangers takeaways from 2-1 win over top team in Pacific Division
The New York Rangers continued their resurgence to start the year, when they picked up a big win over the Vegas Golden Knights, 2-1 at T-Mobile Arena on Saturday night.
The victory gives New York its first winning streak since claiming three straight from Nov. 14-19. The Rangers are 4-1-1 in 2025, and they’ve played a much better brand of hockey in the new year.
If a 3-2 overtime victory over the New Jersey Devils was a good sign that the Rangers were turning things around, a 2-1 win over the top team in the Pacific Division should be an even better sign. Now back to NHL .500 (20-20-2), the Rangers are starting to climb out of the hole they dug from a 4-15-0 stretch in the final six weeks of 2024.
In the win over Vegas, Vincent Trocheck scored a power-play goal to get the Rangers on the board after the Golden Knights took a 1-0 lead, but it was Adam Edstrom who scored the game-winner, as the fourth line came up with a huge goal once again. Igor Shesterkin was solid in net with 29 saves and has put together two strong appearances after missing four games due to an upper-body injury.
Related: Rangers Daily: Streaking Blueshirts, latest Alex Ovechkin milestone
3 takeaways from Rangers 2-1 win against Golden Knights
Here are three takeaways from the win on Saturday.
1. Fourth line comes up big again
Sam Carrick was the unlikely overtime hero on Thursday after a great game on New York’s fourth line. Against the Golden Knights, it was Edstrom who came up with a huge goal, but the entire fourth line, which also boasts Jonny Brodzinski and Matt Rempe, deserves credit.
“I know Rempe got it on the wall, great outlet pass to (Brodzinski) there, and we kind of talked about crashing the net so I was just trying to get in there,” Edstrom explained. “Got a tip on the puck and it went in.”
Getting contributions throughout the lineup has been crucial for the Rangers recently, especially with Chris Kreider and Filip Chytil out with injuries. It was the third goal of the season for Edstrom, who has quietly been a key piece to a fourth line that has been very effective this season.
2. Commitment to defense has Rangers heating up
After blowing an early 3-0 lead and late 4-3 lead against the Dallas Stars before losing in overtime on Jan. 7, the Rangers have really tightened up defensively. It seemed that the OT loss to Dallas was a wake-up call for New York, as sloppy defensive play cost them what should have been an easy win after scoring three goals in the first 10 minutes. Since then, they’ve committed to playing a better brand of hockey, starting in their own zone.
“We’re just playing more as a team defensively,” defenseman Ryan Lindgren said. “It seems like we’ve been doing that more the last couple of games. That’s the key to winning games, so that was a good one tonight for us.”
This commitment to defense has helped the Rangers earn two very important wins in the last two games. They’re visibly more invested in protecting Shesterkin, who’s undoubtedly one of the best in the world when he is not constantly facing high-danger scoring chances. The uptick in blocked shots and team defense is a trend that needs to continue if the Rangers want to keep trending in the right direction.
3. Statement win over Golden Knights
Not only did the Rangers come away with another big win, but they did so against one of the top teams in the NHL. The Golden Knights are third in the League in points (59), behind only the Winnipeg Jets and Washington Capitals (61 points apiece). With a tough schedule ahead, including four games in six nights beginning Tuesday, this win should give New York plenty of confidence, proving that it can hang with — and defeat — the best teams in the NHL.
“I thought we were right on point right from the start,” coach Peter Laviolette said postgame. “For me, it’s just a follow up from the last game. It was a really solid effort and game at home, and then to come on the road a day later, take the travel to get out here, then play tonight. I thought the guys were excellent from the drop of the puck and then just followed it through for 60 minutes.”
The road ahead doesn’t get any easier for New York: On Tuesday, the Rangers will play the Colorado Avalanche, who are 12th in the NHL but only a handful of points out of the top five. It will be another big test, but the win in Vegas has put opponents on notice that the Blueshirts might be back.
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