Derek Dorsett is pumped after his tying goal in the second of a Rangers’ 4-3 win over the Panthers.
AP Photo/John Minchillo

After the Rangers held off a strong challenge from the Panthers, MSG’s Sam Rosen summed up the 4-3 win best. “There are no easy games in the NHL.” How accurate he was with that statement. Sam has lost a little mustard on our games but is still great at hammering home the point. For the team, it was an important two points to get giving them three consecutive wins. It’s not always pretty but a ‘W’ is a ‘W.’ For the first time all season, they’re over .500 improving to 9-8-0. With 18 points, suddenly they trail first place Pittsburgh by four.

The improved offense continued with the Rangers scoring four on two-time Vezina winner Tim Thomas. The ornery vet was under siege at times making acrobatic stops en route to a 25-save performance. Despite allowing four, he was good. So too was Henrik Lundqvist, who despite giving up three goals to end our impressive streak of two or less at 10, was strong finishing with 24 saves. The goaltenders had to be good due to a wide open contest that Joe Micheletti referenced as “pond hockey.” That’s the kind of game it was featuring exciting end to end rushes with each team taking turns pushing the attack. That’s what interim Panther coach Peter Horachek wants to see. It still wasn’t enough sending them to a ninth straight loss.

Brad Richards had quite a game. The likeable 33-year old vet has bounced back rediscovering his scoring touch. Before snapping an eight-game goal drought with a beauty in the third period, he had so many chances but no luck. That included a goal post along with a glorious opportunity in which he missed a gaping net off a Carl Hagelin set up. After the whistle, he broke his stick in frustration. It’s nice to see him show emotion. This isn’t last year when nothing went right. Richards continued to battle and got rewarded. He also set up Mats Zuccarello’s game-winner on a well orchestrated 5-on-3 out of a timeout. A rarity. Credit assistant Scott Arniel for being the anti-Mike Sullivan.

”It seemed like one of those nights where you wonder if something was against you. But we got a clean sheet of ice and I put one into the net,” Richards explained following a big night that gave him five points over his last three. ”We’ve been winning lately, which brings the mood of everybody up.”

Winning cures all. Even on a night they weren’t sharp, the Rangers got the job done. Of course, they had to play down to a desperate opponent, who I warned would be dangerous. Even on a back to back, the feisty Panthers kept clawing back. After J.T. Miller finished off a wonderful play from Chris Kreider and Ryan McDonagh, Brian Boyle took a bad penalty with 44 seconds left in the first. It didn’t take long for Florida to cash in with rookie Aleksander Barkov steering home a Kris Versteeg rebound with 26.1 seconds remaining. Tom Gilbert picked up the secondary assist.

The Panthers carried momentum into a strong second. They controlled much of the play for long stretches- forcing Lundqvist to be at his best. At one point, shots were 11-2. It took a Brian Campbell goal off a Ranger stick for them to awaken. Trailing 2-1, they responded with a strong shift. An onslaught on Thomas that finally resulted in Derek Dorsett’s tying marker with 6:02 left. Alain Vigneault changed things up shifting Dorsett to a checking line with Boyle and Derick Brassard. The move paid off immediately when a great second effort from Dorsett resulted in him slamming home his own rebound past Thomas. Boyle got the puck in behind the net and Dorsett did the rest. Mike Del Zotto notched the other helper.

”Even though they’ve been struggling a little bit lately, it’s still a tough game to play,” Lundqvist pointed out. ”The second goal for us when we tied it up was a big, big goal, going out and getting that confidence, knowing that we can do this.”

Without Dorsett’s goal, who knows if the Rangers win. They needed it. Dorsett’s game has really been noticeable. No longer taking silly penalties, he’s using his speed to get in on the forecheck and finish checks. He was the throw in from the Marian Gaborik deal. At the time, I felt he could become a fan favorite due to his aggressive physical game. For a while, he wasn’t using his head. Now, he’s become so trusted that Vigneault rewarded him with 20 shifts (15:23 TOI). On the flip side, Benoit Pouliot is in the doghouse seeing only 11 shifts (7:13). He’s taken bad penalties and hasn’t been consistent. You have to play the guys who are going.

”I don’t think we played that well,” Zuccarello added after his one-timer on a two-man advantage held up. ”At the same time we pushed the pace a little bit extra when they went up 2-1.”

Less than a minute into the third, Richards finally got one. Off another brilliant pass from Hagelin, this time he didn’t miss firing a laser top shelf from the left circle. Consecutive penalties from Versteeg and Dmitry Kulikov handed them a crucial 5-on-3. A big McDonagh keep allowed Derek Stepan to move the puck to Richards, who quickly passed for Zuccarello, who didn’t miss. It was a sight to behold. Maybe we should freeze frame it.

To the Panthers’ credit, they didn’t quit. Campbell’s perseverance was rewarded when he got to a Tomas Fleischmann rebound cutting it to 4-3 with still 7:03 left. Nick Bjugstad drew the other helper. It got more interesting after an undisciplined Kreider cross check to Scottie Upshall put Florida on a power play for the final 1:15. He reacted poorly to an Upshall slash during a shift taking an unnecessary penalty that could’ve cost his team. Luckily, his teammates bailed him out. I’m sure Vigneault had a talk with him. Technically, Kreider’s still a rookie. He’s playing with more purpose. It was his superb back check that forced a turnover leading to Miller’s first. He also made the pass.

Kreider’s play was already reviewed by the league. They decided against suspending him. He hasn’t been around that long. So maybe he got a get out of jail free card. Next time, he won’t be so fortunate. I’m glad we’ll have him for the suddenly resurgent Devils for tomorrow’s Battle Of Hudson rematch at MSG. Since the recall, he’s been one of their best forwards finally looking like a complete player. The one ex-coach John Tortorella wanted to see. Kreider has always had a good attitude despite the setbacks. When he didn’t make the club out of camp, he didn’t pine. Instead, he worked hard under Ken Gernander and earned a promotion. Even if it was due to desperate circumstances. The same thing once happened for Brandon Dubinsky. It doesn’t matter how they get here. But what they do with it.

BONY 3 Stars:

3rd Star-Brian Campbell, FLA (2 goals including 400th career point in 27:02)

2nd Star-Mats Zuccarello, NYR (PPG game-winner at 6:16 of 3rd, 5 SOG in 21:19)

1st Star-Brad Richards, NYR (6th of season snapped 8-game drought, assist, 4 SOG, 4 missed attempts, 8-of-11 on face-offs, +1 in 19:05)