The last time they played, it was all Toronto Maple Leafs in a 7-3 win over the New York Rangers one week ago on Dec. 12. They dominated the first meeting by beating Igor Shesterkin six times on 29 shots to send him to a third consecutive defeat.

Since then, the Rangers have responded with three wins in a row – highlighted by Tuesday night’s 5-2 win over the Leafs to get a measure of revenge in the rematch up north on Dec. 19. That included Shesterkin turning in one of his best games of the season. He made 31 saves on 33 shots to earn his second straight victory. He followed up a 21-save performance in a 2-1 overtime win over the Boston Bruins with an even better game.

Related: Rangers Steal One From Bruins In Overtime

The best part is that after struggling during a recent stretch that saw them allow 17 combined goals in bad losses to the Ottawa Senators, Washington Capitals, and Maple Leafs, the Rangers have turned it around during their current three-game winning streak. They’ve outscored opponents 12-4.

That’s also included superb play from their goalies. Following Jonathan Quick making 29 saves in a 5-1 win over the Anaheim Ducks on Dec. 15, Shesterkin has stopped 52 of 55 shots to supply the kind of goaltending the Rangers have come to expect from the 27-year-old. It’s more in line with what the former Vezina winner is capable of.

In the win over the Leafs, Shesterkin came up with clutch saves at times against a dangerous opponent. That included timely stops against Auston Matthews, John Tavares, and William Nylander. Matthews got Shesterkin twice for his league-leading 24th and 25th goals of the season. Both came off sloppy plays that made it easy for one of the game’s best finishers to give the Leafs a chance. Similar to last week, he was dangerous throughout. He doesn’t need much real estate to score.

A Good Road Period

Unlike the bad start that they had a week ago in giving up four goals to fall behind 4-1, the Rangers played a good road period at Toronto.

There was more energy from the jump. Will Cuylle had an early point blank chance that Leafs goalie Martin Jones denied. It was created by Nick Bonino.

If there was a theme early, it was the physicality both teams demonstrated. In between each side generating chances, there were some big hits. That included Rangers captain Jacob Trouba flattening Leafs rookie Matthew Knies. Barclay Goodrow also had a good check on Matthews. The hitting made for an entertaining period, even though neither team scored.

The Rangers out-shot the Leafs 11-5 in the first period. They were more aggressive attacking the Leafs’ defense. In particular, Alexis Lafreniere was very noticeable during some strong shifts. One included him setting up Artemi Panarin in the slot for a shot that missed wide. Lafreniere was the best Ranger skater in the period, followed by K’Andre Miller, whose Mom attended the game.

Although they only had five shots, the Leafs created a few dangerous opportunities off their forecheck. The combination of skating and passing led to some wide open shots. But they missed the mark. That included Max Domi sending an early wrist shot just over the top. Tyler Bertuzzi missed the net wide a couple of times when he was left open.

Shesterkin also made a save on Marner that set the tone. He was much sharper than the previous matchup. He needed to be once the Leafs amped it up in the second period.

On the other side, Jones made a few good stops. That was highlighted by his denial on Cuylle one-on-one. He also stopped Panarin and Goodrow in a strong period.

Zibanejad Gives Rangers a Short-lived Lead

The second period was interesting. With both sides looking to get on the scoreboard, it was a bizarre play that led to the Rangers taking the lead.

After receiving a pass from Chris Kreider, Blake Wheeler skated into the Leafs’ zone and took an innocent looking wrist shot from the right circle that took a funny hop off of Mika Zibanejad past Jones to give the Rangers a 1-0 lead at 6:11. Initially, it was hard to tell if the puck banked off Zibanejad or not. Regardless, they got the game’s first goal.

However, the Rangers’ lead was short-lived. On another effective shift from Lafreniere in the Toronto zone, it went to waste when Panarin made a bad pass that sent the Leafs in the opposite direction. Following an Adam Fox neutral zone turnover, Bertuzzi got the puck to Morgan Rielly. He gained the Rangers’ zone and centered for Matthews, who scored his league-leading 24th to tie the game 81 seconds later.

Lafreniere Scores to End Drought

With the game tied, Tyler Pitlick drew a holding minor on Leafs defenseman William Lagesson. The best chance the first unit got was when Panarin fired a screamer that Jones made a nice glove save on.

In the second part of the power play, the second unit came out. It included Lafreniere, Wheeler, Jonny Brodzinski, Jimmy Vesey, and Erik Gustafsson. After Wheeler won a faceoff, Brodzinski moved the puck to Gustafsson. He sent it across for a Lafreniere shot in the left circle that banked in off of Rielly to give the Rangers their second lead with over 10 minutes left in the period.

The goal was Lafreniere’s first in 13 games. It allowed him to end his scoring drought. He hadn’t scored since Nov. 22. His ninth goal came at the right time. It was a good response to Matthews’ goal. Most importantly, Lafreniere deserved it. He had a good game and got rewarded.

Trailing by one, the Leafs kept coming. Nylander came out with the puck in front and was stoned by Shesterkin. His defense didn’t exactly play well in the period. They allowed too much space and left players wide open. Good thing the real Shesterkin showed up. He made 16 saves in a much busier second to keep the Rangers ahead.

Matthews Ties It

After the Leafs out-shot the Rangers 17-14 in the second, they came out quickly to start the third period. Shesterkin made a big save on Bertuzzi on the first shift. He got in behind the Rangers’ defense and was stopped by Shesterkin before 25 seconds had elapsed.

Following a Nylander takeaway, he passed the puck to Jake McCabe. McCabe then got the puck over to Matthews for another rocket that beat Shesterkin to tie the score. The goal came only 1:16 into the third. On the play, both Kreider and Wheeler got caught puck watching.

That allowed Matthews to do what he does best. He leads the league with 25 goals. A week after lighting the Rangers up for two goals and two assists for four points, he scored both the Leafs’ goals to give them a chance. The 26-year-old center has been on fire lately. He extended his goal streak to five. Matthews has nine goals along with three assists for a dozen points over that span. That includes four two-goal games. Dating back to Dec. 2, Matthews has 11 goals over his last seven games. He’s a great player.

Schneider Scores A Beauty

Following a Leafs’ chance that didn’t go, a faceoff won by Zibanejad in the neutral zone resulted in a highlight reel goal. Braden Schneider scored a beauty that proved to be the game-winner with 11:52 remaining in the third. It was his first goal in 23 games. His last one came on Oct. 26.

On the play, after Zibanejad won the draw, Wheeler moved the puck to Gustafsson, who passed it up for Schneider, who got behind the Leafs’ defense. He then broke in and beat Jones short side over the glove to give the Rangers their third lead of the game. This time, they wouldn’t relinquish it.

It hasn’t been the best first half for Schneider. In his third season, he’s been up and down. There are moments when he plays well like last night. There also are times when he doesn’t. Still only 22, he’s still learning. One thing to like is his skating. He is a strong skater with good instincts. That’s what allowed him to get the winner.

Panarin Adds Insurance

With less than seven minutes left in regulation, Leafs forward David Kampf took down Ryan Lindgren for a tripping minor. That gave the Rangers their second power play. They had the only two of the game. The refs let both teams play throughout what was a hard fought game.

On the five-on-four, Vincent Trocheck got the puck up to Gustafsson, who had come on to replace an ineffective Fox. The one-time Maple Leaf moved the puck over to Panarin, who snapped a wrist shot that went off a Leafs’ defenseman past Jones for a power-play goal that added insurance. His team-leading 17th goal came made it 4-2 with 4:52 left in the contest.

For Gustafsson, who Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe hardly used in last season’s playoffs after coming over from the Washington Capitals in a trade for Rasmus Sandin and a 2023 first round pick, it had to feel good. He recorded three assists and was named the game’s first star.

Zibanejad Ices It

With Keefe lifting Jones for an extra attacker, that gave the Rangers a chance to finish the game off. Somewhat allergic to empty nets, this time they managed to score to erase any suspense.

Zibanejad iced it when he got his second of the game into a vacated net with 3:13 remaining. Lindgren and Kreider picked up the assists.

Rangers Play Twice Before Christmas Break

With the win, the Rangers improved to 22-7-1 on the season. They lead the Metropolitan Division with 45 points. That’s six better than the second place Flyers, who got a big win in overtime on Tuesday night over the perplexing Devils. The Islanders are third in the division with 38 points. The Devils are sixth with 34.

After two days off, the Rangers will play twice before the Christmas break. On Friday night, they’ll host the Edmonton Oilers. The game doesn’t start until 7:30 EST due to it being on ESPN.

It’ll be a chance to see the game’s best player, Connor McDavid. He missed the first matchup, which the Rangers won 3-0 at Edmonton on Oct. 26. Fox, Panarin, and Lafreniere scored, and Quick made 29 saves for the shutout. The Oilers have played much better hockey since former Hartford Wolf Pack coach Kris Knoblauch took over. They’re 10-6-0 under him. They lost to the Islanders 3-1 last night.

The final game before Christmas is on Sunday, Dec. 23 against the Buffalo Sabres. Despite their disappointing 13-17-3 record that included a brutal loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday night, the Sabres are capable of beating anyone.

They have beaten both the Leafs and Vegas Golden Knights. They also defeated the Rangers 5-1 on Nov. 27. The Rangers took the first meeting by the same score on Oct. 12. It’ll be the third and final meeting of the regular season.