They can thank Ryan Callahan. Captain Cally ended an eight game goal drought. His shorthanded goal turned the game around. It was part of a great game from the unquestioned leader of this team. Mats Zuccarello was good offensively but took three penalties. Winnipeg had a five-on-three but failed to capitalize. Instead, Ryan McDonagh intercepted a pass in front and sent Zuccarello- who was out of the penalty box- and Callahan on a two-on-one. Callahan patiently out-waited the Jets defender and then flipped a backhand upstairs on Ondrej Pavelec to tie it. During the second period intermission, Callahan told Al Trautwig it was up there in terms of being one of his best goals. 

Considering the moment and the swing, it loomed large. After playing passively during a shaky first despite scoring on their first shot, the Blueshirts were much more aggressive. With the exception of Zuccarello’s penalty fest, they carried the play. They out-shot the Jets 14-7 in the second and out-chanced them. One of John Tortorella’s better moves was tweaking Stepan’s line. He shifted Callahan to the line with Step and Rick Nash. It paid dividends with the cohesive trio exploding for eight points, including a four-point night from Captain Cally. Following consecutive shutouts, he got on himself for not doing enough. It was his pass that set up Stepan’s 12th on the opening shift. Stepan beat Pavelec on a break in. Without Step, we’d be nowhere. He’s been unbelievable.

But as has been the bad habit of our team, they gave it right back. Nik Antropov came right back 56 seconds later. Two of his five goals have come at our expense. He took a Kyle Wellwood feed and beat Henrik Lundqvist in front. Four Rangers went to Wellwood, leaving Antropov all alone. An indictment of what’s been a shaky D. They’ve gotten worse since Marc Staal‘s injury. The ineptitude forced Lundqvist to fend for himself. Brian Boyle lost a draw to Olli Jokinen, leading to Winnipeg’s second goal. Ron Hainsey passed across for Zach Bogosian, whose shot caromed off a Ranger stick past Lundqvist. A flustered J.T. Miller slammed his stick. 

After struggling to get anything going since the start, they put together a couple of better shifts late. Ultimately, it still came down to the penalty kill. Lundqvist has been critical of our special teams. Tortorella reinserted Darroll Powe to help bolster the PK, which had given up a power play goal in its last six games. Whether it was coincidence or not, they killed all five Winnipeg power plays. Even if Boyle finished minus-two, he was a factor on those kills along with Powe and of course Callahan, whose shorty turned the tide. 

With the game tied in the third, Stepan delivered a clutch goal. It came off some grunt work from Callahan. Keeping a play alive, he passed the puck for Anton Stralman at the left point. Stralman- who has struggled mightily- didn’t hesitate. He fired a low shot that Pavelec mishandled, allowing Stepan to pounce on a rebound for his 12th at 5:46. Just a player who is always in the right spot. That’s been the story for D-Step in Year Four. They better get him re-upped pronto. 

With it being April Fool’s Day, all through the day I kidded that our team would score six. Some didn’t get it while others picked up on it. I took to my second Twitter account and tweeted how much I’d like to see them score again. Apparently, Nash took it literally and ripped home his club-leading 13th about 20 seconds later. Brad Richards picked up a helper after going to the bench on a change and Callahan added an assist for his fourth point. 

There were still a couple of nerve racking moments. With the Jets searching for a way back in it, Blake Wheeler was within inches of cutting it to one only to see a sliding Lundqvist get a piece of it at the last split second. It was one of his best saves. Though he later said that he felt he was in good position. Wheeler was perfectly set up but Lundqvist’s best stop shut him down. He finished with 26 saves. Many quality due to a more aggressive style. The kind the team must play the rest of the way.

3rd Star-Henrik Lundqvist, NYR (26 saves incl. huge stop on Wheeler)

2nd Star-Derek Stepan, NYR (2 goals incl. game-winner-12th, +4 in 21:37)

1st Star-Ryan Callahan, NYR (1-3-4: shorthanded goal-10th tied game, +4 in 23:45)