It was a successful weekend for the New York Rangers. They swept a back-to-back over the Nashville Predators and San Jose Sharks to win their third game in a row.

Artemi Panarin’s hat trick highlighted the Rangers’ 6-5 win over the Sharks on Dec. 3. It was his third hat trick as a Ranger and fifth of his career. Despite a four-point night from Panarin, it didn’t come easy. Neither win did.

Laviolette’s Line Changes Spark Comeback

Facing the Predators for the second time this season on Dec. 2, a lackluster first period that saw the Rangers fall behind by two goals led to coach Peter Laviolette changing all four lines. They responded by outscoring the Preds 3-1 in a much more inspired second period.

A few days removed from Kaapo Kakko suffering a leg injury in a 5-1 loss to the Buffalo Sabres on Nov. 27, he was placed on long-term injured reserve. That meant the Rangers recalled forward Jonny Brodzinski from Hartford.

A high-character depth player who’s served the Rangers well when called upon, Brodzinski rewarded Laviolette’s trust by recording a pair of two assist games for the first time in his career. He helped set up Jacob Trouba’s goal 31 seconds into the second period against Nashville to set the stage for a comeback.

Trocheck Delivers On the Power Play

Even following Colton Sissons’ shorthanded goal, Chris Kreider answered back with his 14th goal of the season right after the power play expired.

Awarded a second straight power play due to Jusso Parssinen boarding Nick Bonino, the Rangers wasted little time drawing even. Following some nice work from Adam Fox and Mika Zibanejad, Vincent Trocheck tipped in a Zibanejad shot for a big power-play goal to tie the score. The tying goal came 19 seconds after Kreider’s goal.

Brodzinski’s Hustle leads to Lindgren’s Winner

With the game tied in the third period, some hustle from Brodzinski allowed Fox to get the puck over to partner Ryan Lindgren for a shot that bounced off a Predator for his first goal of the season. It was a nice reward for the battle tested warrior who played well without Fox.

Lindgren did a good job when he was paired with Erik Gustafsson, who’s been one of the Rangers’ best recent signings. He has provided offense from the blue line while being dependable defensively.

Igor Shesterkin preserved the come from behind 4-3 victory by making 37 saves, including a lucky 13 in the third period. The win improved him to 10-4-0 on the season with a 2.58 goals-against-average (GAA), and .916 save percentage. It was his 109th career win.

Rangers Hold Off Sharks

Entering Sunday night’s home matchup with the Sharks, the Rangers were looking to take over the Eastern Conference lead for the most wins so far. Facing an opponent with the league’s worst record coming into play meant very little.

The Sharks proved that they meant business when they visited Madison Square Garden on Dec. 3. After surprising the Devils to pick up their first road win of the season on Dec. 1, they looked to make it two in a row on Sunday night.

Related: Devils Back At A Crossroads After Devastating Loss To The Sharks

Following some early Rangers’ pressure that led to Sharks’ goalie Mackenzie Blackwood robbing Trouba, Kyle Burroughs made a nice lead pass that sent former Ranger Anthony Duclair in for a breakaway goal on Jonathan Quick. After receiving the pass, Duclair made a nice adjustment before faking out Quick with a forehand deke for a sweet finish less than four minutes into the game.

Panarin Ties It Up

After Jimmy Vesey was high-sticked by the Sharks’ Jacob MacDonald, the Rangers went to work on the power play. The league’s third ranked man-advantage didn’t get anything done on the first one. However, Brodzinski was taken down by Sharks’ rookie William Eklund to go right back up a man.

On their second straight five-on-four, Fox and Zibanejad combined to get the puck up top for Panarin. With both Trocheck and Kreider screening Blackwood in front, Panarin let go of a wrist shot that banged in for a power-play goal at 8:44. Blackwood never saw the puck.

The goal was the start of a big night for Panarin. Under Laviolette, he’s taken his game to a new level. It’s not only about skill, but about will. That was on display later in the game.

Zibanejad Extends Point Streak to Seven

When he assisted on Panarin’s tying goal, it allowed Zibanejad to extend his point streak to seven. He wasn’t done. The Rangers’ number one pivot is finally playing like the star player he is. With him going along with Trocheck, the Rangers have a pretty good center duo for opponents to deal with.

After former Ranger Ryan Carpenter put the Sharks back ahead with less than eight minutes remaining in the first period, the Rangers went back to work thanks to their one-two punch.

Trailing by one, it was the cohesiveness of the second line that struck back to even things up. On a nice two-way passing play between Trocheck and Alexis Lafreniere, Trocheck circled around the Sharks’ net for a wraparound that Blackwood got a piece of. However, Panarin was there to put home the rebound for his second of the game with 7:05 left.

Less than four minutes later, some good work from both Brodzinski and Kreider allowed Zibanejad to score his sixth in front. His running mate Kreider made a perfect centering pass that he buried to give the Rangers their first lead. They carried that 3-2 lead into the locker room.

Cuylle Scores On a Breakaway

During the second period, the play wasn’t as wide open. Both sides focused more on defense and checking. However, there were moments when both Quick and Blackwood came up with some key saves. Quick made his biggest stop when he got across to deny Mikael Granlund earlier in the contest.

The Sharks were relentless throughout the game. It explains why they’ve been winning more games lately. Sent on the power play due to a Zibanejad trip on Tomas Hertl, they hooked up for a power-play goal to tie the score before it expired.

Mike Hoffman and Kevin Labanc combined to set up a MacDonald one-timer that banked off the goalpost and by an unsuspecting Quick, who never picked it up.

A little past the halfway mark, Matt Benning took down Lafreniere from behind to deny a breakaway opportunity. Lafreniere was awarded a penalty shot with 9:44 left in the second period. He tried to beat Blackwood with a forehand. But the former Devil was patient enough to shrug it aside. That kept the game tied.

With less than four minutes to go in the second, Trouba got the puck up for Nick Bonino in the neutral zone. He made a nice touch pass that sent Will Cuylle in on a breakaway. The rookie made no mistake – beating Blackwood with a good wrist shot top shelf to give the Rangers a 4-3 lead. It was Cuylle’s first goal in 11 games, ending a 10-game drought.

When asked about Cuylle following the game, Laviolette indicated how pleased he is with how consistent the 21-year-old forward is game to game. Effort has never been an issue for the former 2020 second round pick. That’s why he’s established himself as a dependable top nine forward that Laviolette can trust.

Panarin Gets The Hat Trick

A little less than five minutes into the third period, Panarin got the hat trick. On a rush started by Brodzinski, he got the puck in front for a Trocheck stuff-in attempt that Blackwood stopped. However, a hustling Panarin was able to scoop up the loose puck and put it in for his third goal of the game and fourth point.

Panarin overtook Kreider for the team lead in goals with 15. His 35 points ranked fourth in league scoring, entering Monday night’s slate.

Later in the period, he made a couple of extra efforts to keep a play alive in the offensive zone, which led to Panarin feeding a pinching K’Andre Miller for his third goal in the last five games. That put the Rangers ahead 6-3 with 6:56 remaining in regulation.

That should’ve been enough to put the game away. Nobody told the Sharks. They never quit.

Sloppiness Makes it Too Close For Comfort

Instead of closing it out, the Rangers took their foot off the accelerator. Sloppiness made it too close for comfort.

A Zibanejad lazy turnover in the Sharks’ zone allowed them to quickly counter in transition for a Fabian Zetterlund goal. On the play, Duclair moved the puck across for a low Granlund shot that Quick kicked out to Zetterlund for an easy finish that made it 6-4 with 5:22 left.

Over a minute later, it was a Lafreniere giveaway inside the Sharks’ blue line that again fueled another goal on the rush. Hertl moved the puck up for Calen Addison, who made a perfect centering feed that Alexander Barabanov finished in front for his first of the season to cut it to one with 4:10 remaining.

Furious with his team’s let up, Laviolette took his timeout to regroup at the bench. After laying in a few words into the players, the message was received. Although the last few minutes weren’t perfect due to the pesky Sharks having a couple of close calls, ultimately, the Rangers came out victorious.

They hung on for a wild 6-5 win against an opponent that proved they’re improving under former Rangers coach David Quinn. They might not have much of a roster with captain Logan Couture still out. But the effort they gave was similar to how the Rangers played during Quinn’s tenure.

It might take some time for the Sharks to get back on track. But they boast Team USA forward Will Smith, who was named to the Under-20 World Junior Championships roster earlier today. It’s all about the future in San Jose.

Rangers Visit Ottawa on Tuesday

On Tuesday night, Dec. 5, the Rangers visit Ottawa to face the Senators up north. It’ll be their third game over four days.

While the Rangers sit atop the Metropolitan Division with an East best 18-4-1 record with 37 points, the Senators are a disappointing 9-10-0 with 18 points to rank last in the Atlantic Division.

Although they’ve played fewer games than the rest of the league, the Senators have to start winning consistently. This was supposed to be a different season where they competed for the playoffs. Instead, they find themselves eight points out of the wildcard while looking up at several teams.

The one thing about the Senators is that you can bank on Brady Tkachuk driving opponents cuckoo, and Tim Stutzle being a dangerous player to keep track of. They have the talent. The Rangers can’t take them lightly.