On Thursday night, the New York Rangers bounced back by defeating the Chicago Blackhawks 4-1 at Madison Square Garden. They improved to 10-1 following defeats this season. The win vaulted them back ahead of the Boston Bruins for the most points (56) in the NHL.

The Rangers got key performances out of leading scorer Artemi Panarin, Vincent Trocheck, and Alexis Lafreniere. The second line again did the heavy lifting – combining for a goal and five assists along with a plus-six rating.

Panarin scored his team-leading 24th goal and added an assist to hike his point total to 53 points. That tied him for third in league scoring with Connor McDavid. Trocheck recorded three assists in the victory. His 27 helpers trail only Panarin (29) on the Rangers. Lafreniere notched an assist when he set up Panarin’s goal in the first period.

Bedard Upstaged in MSG Debut

The game marked the MSG debut of Connor Bedard. The much hyped 2023 top pick was named as the Blackhawks’ only All-Star earlier today. He will represent them at the game in Toronto on Feb. 3.

Facing the Rangers, Bedard learned a valuable lesson. Although he was noticeable during shifts with a couple of close calls against Rangers’ All-Star Shesterkin, the 18-year-old phenom tried to do too much on one sequence.

He over skated and was forced into a turnover by Trocheck inside the Rangers’ zone. That led directly to Trocheck feeding Lafreniere for a quick transition into the Blackhawks’ zone. Lafreniere then set up Panarin for the game’s first goal with seven minutes remaining in the first period.

For the game, Bedard finished with three shots-on-goal and a minus-two rating in 18:54 of ice time. He showed some flashes of what makes him a very dangerous player. Ultimately, his team isn’t good enough. They got exposed by the more detail oriented Rangers.

Kreider Scores on The Power Play

With the Rangers still up by a goal in the second period, Adam Fox was sent off for interference on Boris Katchouk. Over a minute into the Hawks’ first power play, Jimmy Vesey drew an interference minor on Kevin Korchinski when he was picked off in his zone. That led to a four-on-four.

When it concluded, the Rangers went to the power play. With time running down, Mika Zibanejad got the puck in front for Trocheck, who had his shot ring off the goalpost. A driving Chris Kreider then had the puck go off his skate and in. Chicago goalie Petr Mrazek immediately protested. He felt the puck was kicked in. Even Kreider’s reaction indicated that he felt it wouldn’t count.

However, following a video review, the refs ruled that it wasn’t a kicking motion. To Kreider’s surprise, it was a good goal. His ninth power-play goal moved him into sole possession of fourth on the Rangers’ all-time franchise list with his 101st power-play goal. That passed Adam Graves (100).

Most importantly, Kreider’s 20th goal of the season gave the Rangers a 2-0 lead with 12:35 left in the second period. By getting that goal, it’s the ninth time in his career that he’s scored at least 20 goals. With goals in three straight, he’s heating up.

Othmann Comes Close in NHL Debut

Thursday’s game was also the NHL debut of Brennan Othmann. Called up from the Hartford Wolf Pack yesterday to replace the injured Tyler Pitlick, Othmann played with Nick Bonino and Jonny Brodzinski on the third line. He didn’t disappoint the fans.

A strong skater with a willingness to go to the net, Othmann played with confidence in his first game. He nearly had his first goal, but Mrazek denied him. He also missed putting in a rebound of a Bonino shot that Mrazek saved.

In 16 shifts, Othmann led all Rangers skaters in shots (5) and attempts (8). He registered three hits in 12:26. Not only was he aggressive with his shot. He also showed some nice hands by making a behind the back drop pass to Brodzinski during a shift in the third period. He doesn’t lack confidence.

Othmann made a good first impression in his debut.

Blackwell Burns Former Team

Even though they carried most of the play, the Rangers still only led the Blackhawks by two goals late in the second period. Letting them hang around made it interesting. As it turned out, a former Ranger got the Blackhawks right back in the game.

On a good stretch pass from Jaycob Megna to Katchouk, he fed Blackwell, who got behind both Jacob Trouba and K’Andre Miller for a breakaway. He then cut to the net and made a good fake to get Shesterkin to bite before tucking in a forehand for his first goal of the season. That cut the deficit to one with 2:57 remaining in the period.

Blackwell wasn’t done. On the next shift, he drew a tripping minor on Miller to put the Hawks on the power play. However, the Rangers held the Blackhawks to only one long shot that Shesterkin easily handled. They did a good job to kill off the penalty.

Before the period concluded, Blackwell had a deflection just miss. Lucky for the Rangers’ sake, it did.

Trouba and Vesey Strike Quickly in Third

With the Rangers nursing a one-goal lead into the third period, Shesterkin made a big stop to thwart Jason Dickinson on a wrap-around less than 30 seconds in. That was a big save.

On the next shift, it was the work of the second line that led to a Trouba goal. After Mrazek made saves on both Lafreniere and Panarin, they kept going. Eventually, Trocheck and Panarin combined to feed a pinching Trouba for an innocent looking wrist shot that went right by Mrazek to give the Rangers a 3-1 lead. It was a shot Mrazek should’ve had. Instead, Trouba got his third of the season at 1:31.

Over a minute later, Vesey finished off a nice pass from Will Cuylle to suddenly give the Rangers a three-goal lead with 17:19 remaining in the third period. The goals from Trouba and Vesey came 70 seconds apart. Their quick strikes really took the wind out of the Blackhawks’ sails.

Wheeler Battles Tinordi

Over four minutes into the third, Blake Wheeler decided to battle Jarred Tinordi. The two exchanged punches with Tinordi getting the takedown.

The fight came out of nowhere. It was just one of those things that sometimes happens in a hockey game. There was no loss of manpower. Each served five minutes for fighting.

Rangers Cruise Down the Stretch

As the third period went on, there wasn’t much to write home about. Outside of Rangers coach Peter Laviolette giving Othmann a look with Zibanejad and Kreider while Wheeler served his penalty, there wasn’t much happening.

There was another four-on-four after Fox negated a Ranger power play by taking down Nick Foligno. He didn’t have a good game. Fox hasn’t been as sharp recently. Most of his points have come on the power play. If he’s not fully healthy, it shows. He’s looked a bit out of sorts.

With less than three minutes left in regulation, Shesterkin stopped Bedard and a couple of other Hawks to prevent any late comeback.

The Rangers cruised down the stretch to get the win.

Rangers visit Canadiens

Next up for the Rangers are the Canadiens. They’ll visit Montreal this Saturday, Jan. 6 at 7 EST. Since it’s Hockey Night In Canada, it could start a little late.

Considering the weather that’s coming into the New York/New Jersey area this weekend, watching hockey between the Rangers and Canadiens sounds good right about now. Fire up the grill and grab a drink.

Although the Canadiens aren’t a playoff team, they’re a respectable 16-17-5 under Martin St. Louis. Captain Nick Suzuki has been playing well. He had two goals and two assists over his previous three games before the Habs lost 6-1 to the Sabres. Suzuki, Cole Caufield, and Mike Matheson have been their best players.

Before they return to the city to host the Canucks on Monday, Jan. 8, the Rangers want to make sure they don’t take the Canadiens lightly. They have great crowds at the Bell Centre. It should be energized for a game on Saturday night.