Rangers Edge Canucks 4-3 in Back & Forth Affair – Hockey Writers – New York Rangers

The New York Rangers got goals from four different players when they beat the Vancouver Canucks 4-3 on Tuesday night. The Canucks were missing two-thirds of their top line in Brock Boeser and JT Miller but still found a way to keep pace with the now 12-4-1 Rangers. Led by two-point efforts from Kaapo Kakko and Will Cuylle up front and Adam Fox on the blue line, the Rangers won their third straight since being thrashed 6-3 by the Winnipeg Jets on Nov. 12. Chris Kreider got the game-winner in the third and ninth, and remains out 17-game assist season.

Recap of the game

The scoring started quickly in this country as the Canucks and Rangers exchanged goals in the first three minutes of the game. First, Quinn Hughes tipped Jacob Trouba and put it back by Igor Shesterkin with 34 seconds left, and Mika Zibanejad responded at 2:31 by deflecting a K'Andre Miller shot. The score stayed 1-1 until 14:38 when Cuylle followed Hughes and grabbed his sixth of the season from Arturs Silovs. Rangers took a 2-1 lead just minutes later, as Kiefer Sherwood scored the fifth after a superb pass from Elias Pettersson. The time ended with Pettersson and Adam Fox already having two points for the night.

The middle frame was full of excitement for the fans as both teams exchanged chances and goals. The Rangers' third line scored again at 8:45 with Kakko's third, giving the Rangers the lead, until Conor Garland tied it with his fifth at 13:02 with a laser over Shesterkin's shoulder. The goal also gave Dakota Joshua his first point since recovering from testicular cancer.

The third period wasn't as exciting as the first two, but the Rangers found a way to get back on top of Kreider's goal at 10:43 when he clipped Silovs' stick. The Canucks had a power play and a few good chances to tie it after that, but ultimately fell short and finished their homestand 2-4-0, falling to 3-5-3 on the season at Rogers Arena. The Rangers improved to 7-1-0 on the road and remained one of the best road teams in the NHL. Shesterkin stopped 21 of 24 shots in the win and Silovs was the busiest goaltender in the loss with 29 saves on 33 shots.

What's next for the Canucks and Rangers?

The Canucks will now hit the road for a six-game road trip east. Their first opponent will be the Ottawa Senators on Saturday. Meanwhile, the Rangers will head to Calgary to face the Flames on Thursday.