Ex-Rangers forward scores winner for division rival in MSG return
The New York Rangers dropped another game, 3-1 to their division rival Carolina Hurricanes on Sunday afternoon at Madison Square Garden. The game winner was scored by former Rangers forward Jack Roslovic, whose had an incredible bounce back after failing to find his game with New York last season.
Roslovic was acquired by New York ahead of the 2024 trade deadline from the Columbus Blue Jackets, with hopes that he would add a scoring boost to the top-six as the Rangers prepared to make a deep run in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Rangers also had hopes that he would fill a hole on right wings on a line with Mika Zibanejad and Chris Kreider, which was something they desperately needed.
Instead, Roslovic scored just three goals and had five assists in 19 regular-season games with the Rangers. He added two goals and six assists in 16 Stanley Cup Playoff games before the Rangers were eliminated in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Final by the Florida Panthers. It is very safe to say that Roslovic did not live up to the expectations with the Rangers.
Not surprisingly, the Rangers elected not to re-sign Roslovic, who was a UFA this past offseason. The 27-year-old instead signed a one-year, $2.8 million contract with the Hurricanes and has had quite the comeback. In 33 games, Roslovic has 14 goals and five assists, and after potting one against the Rangers in the second period on Sunday, is now tied for the Hurricanes lead in goals with Martin Necas.
Related: 3 Rangers takeaways after 3-1 loss to Metro Division rival Hurricanes
Jack Roslovic’s goal ends up as game-winner against Rangers
Roslovic’s goal came on an expiring four-minute, double-minor assessed to Alexis Lafreniere for high-sticking. Lafreniere went to lift the stick of Roslovic and missed, clipping him in the mouth and drawing blood at 10:34 of the second period. After a quick trip to the dressing room, Roslovic came back and scored what turned out to be the game-winner at 14:32 during a miserable second period for New York.
“We didn’t get the puck to the next level in the second period,” Rangers coach Peter Laviolette said postgame. “I thought the battles went their way. One goal on the power play and another with a guy coming out of the box, and that’s the difference in the game. I thought they were better than us in the second period.”
The second period for New York really was a let-down after a near-perfect start to the game. The Rangers scored just 17 seconds into the first period on a Jimmy Vesey goal, and seemed to dominate play early. They got off to a very fast start, which is something they’ve struggled to do over the past several weeks.
Unfortunately, they were not able to turn their excellent start into a 60-minute performance. This was largely due to penalties that took the momentum out of the game for the Rangers. Starting the second period on the penalty kill gave the Hurricanes early momentum, and the Rangers were never really able to gain it back.
“The start was good, but it slowly slipped away from us after that,” defenseman Adam Fox explained. “Penalties, and then they get chances. Their goal there at the end of the penalty and again on the second one as well. We got the start we wanted, but got to keep going like that for the whole game.”
As for Roslovic, the goal was his first in seven games and second since Nov. 25, after a fast start with the Hurricanes. The 14 goals are already second most in his NHL career, behind the 22 he scored with the Blue Jackets in 2021-22.
He’s played a big role for the Hurricanes (20-11-1), who are third in the Metropolitan Division, eight points ahead of the Rangers, who’ve they already defeated twice this season.
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