Sometimes, all it takes is one big shift to change a game. For as much as they looked on the ropes like a prize fighter in quickly falling behind 2-0, the New York Rangers responded well to adversity in earning a 4-3 comeback win over the Montreal Canadiens at Bell Centre. By getting four of the last five goals to even their record at 3-3-1, the Rangers showed a lot of character in improving to 3-0-1 on the road. They concluded the road trip by earning three out of a possible four points at Toronto and Montreal.

By the time the second period came, the game had already swung in the Rangers’ favor. After looking out of place against the high-flying Canadiens, who struck for two early goals over a 2:09 span at the start, they settled in thanks to a crucial penalty kill that kept the dangerous Habs from going up by three. Mika Zibanead’s power-play goal from the left circle suddenly made it a one-goal game with 8:04 remaining in the first.

Despite getting badly outplayed, the Blueshirts began to turn it around after the Zibanejad one-time blast past Sam Montembeault that was nicely set up from Artemi Panarin and Adam Fox. It was the kind of shot Zibanejad used to score on when he was a 30-goal scorer. Maybe that’ll get him going.

As fast as they are, the Canadiens can be slowed down by taking the body. The Rangers did it often much to the Bell Centre crowd’s dismay. They were only credited with 24 hits, but they sure finished a lot of checks to turn the game into more of a grinding style. That’s exactly how they had to play to get a win in the House of Horrors.

Rangers head coach Mike Sullivan opted for Jonathan Quick over Igor Shesterkin, who got the weekend off to prepare for the Minnesota Wild on Monday night. Quick wasn’t at his best, but made enough stops to get the win. He finished with 21 saves. His biggest one came when he denied a Cole Caufield bid with 2:09 left in regulation during a four-on-four. It was an opportunity Caufield usually scores on. But Quick prevented the late game heroics from the most dangerous Habs finisher.

It looked like it would be a long Saturday night. The Canadiens made it 1-0 only 93 seconds in when Caufield led a two-on-one, setting up Juraj Slafkovsky for his second. Matthew Robertson got caught on a pinch at the blue line, which the dangerous Caufield quickly turned into an easy goal for Slafkovsky.

Things didn’t improve on the following shift. Urho Vaakanainen was sent off for hooking. Some fancy passing from the Canadiens resulted in Ivan Demidov dishing across for a Nick Suzuki one-timer into an open net with Quick out of position at 3:42.

It really looked like they were going to win easily. But the Rangers managed to kill off a Conor Sheary slashing minor to hang around. Quick only had to make one stop on Oliver Kapanen.

From that point, things changed dramatically. With Josh Anderson off for holding Will Borgen, the Rangers top unit stuck with it. After a couple of Montreal clears, they finally were able to get set up. That allowed Zibanejad to get into position in his office for a perfect Fox pass to get his second to cut it to 2-1. There weren’t a ton of shots, with the Habs taking a one-goal lead to the locker room.

In the second, Sheary came close to tying it, but Montembeault made the save. He had another close call later. An effort player, he isn’t going to get many goals. Quick came up with a pretty big save to deny the dangerous Demidov. A rookie with blazing speed, he is electrifying to watch. The 19-year-old 2024 number six pick is going to score plenty.

Panarin was still searching for his first goal. He missed on a couple of chances. That included a point blank opportunity that he normally buries in his sleep. He definitely was feeling it.

After Alexis Lafreniere hit the goalpost, it looked like Will Cuylle had the game-tying goal. Cuylle was right on the doorstep with nobody on him. But after faking out Montembeault, he missed on the backhand. Cuylle has started to play a lot better since being moved onto the big line with Zibanejad and Panarin. It’s just a matter of time before he gets going.

With the score still 2-1, Sam Carrick made an impact. A strong player so far in his second year for the Rangers, he caught Lane Hutson with a clean hit against the boards that sent him down. With the Habs fans booing, Hutson then went right back taking Carrick down. It really should’ve been a penalty. Following that exchange, Arber Xhekaj challenged Carrick. Even with him giving up several inches and pounds, Carrick punched up and won the fight. He got plenty of love from teammates when he went to the box. That really seemed to inspire the team. They showed it afterwards.

With time winding down in the period, Panarin got two great chances on a late power play. He missed on both, including sending a missile from the slot over the top. He still was without a goal entering the third.

With the power play expiring, Panarin moved the puck up for an Adam Fox shot that looked to have deflected off Lafreniere. However, Miller got his stick on it for the big goal that tied the game 34 seconds into the final period. Both Lafreniere and Miller set up in front. They each went for the puck, but it was clearly Miller’s goal. Regardless, it was a tie hockey game.

During a scrum following the next shift, Xhekaj pulled some shenanigans by cross-checking Matt Rempe twice. Despite him pulling the stunt, they gave Rempe a matching minor for roughing. It was typical Montreal. A joke call if I ever saw one. Instead of going back on the power play, the Rangers skated four aside with the Canadiens. Suzuki had the best chance, but he fanned on a shot.

Back at full strength, Panarin continued to make things happen. In by far his best game so far, he combined with Sheary to set up Robertson for an unscreened point shot that somehow eluded Montembeault from way out. It was Robertson’s first career NHL goal.

It was well-deserved for the 24-year-old defenseman who rebounded from a tough start to play another strong game. He’s making a case to stay in the lineup when veteran Carson Soucy comes off injured reserve. He’s due to be activated on Monday. Sullivan has an interesting decision to make. Robertson plays solid defensively and knows when to go. I’d like to see him remain in the lineup over Vaakanainen. We’ll see what happens.

The big night continued for Panarin. On a quick transition up the ice, Vladislav Gavrikov moved the puck for Zibanejad, who skated up ice and gained the zone before finding a wide open Panarin. He skated untouched and released a bomb from the right circle past Montembeault to make it four straight goals for the Blueshirts. In a game they once trailed 2-0, they now led 4-2. There was still plenty of time left.

The Canadiens were able to respond thanks to Noah Dobson getting his first as a Canadien. The former Islander took a Jayden Struble feed and beat Quick from a tough angle to make it 4-3 with 11:34 left in regulation. On the play, Fox was battling Brendan Gallagher in front. That looked like it served as enough of a distraction. Quick was unable to pick up Dobson’s shot.

A bit later, Rempe got a chance when he sent a one-timer right on Montembeault, who had no trouble with it. By that point, the teams were playing with just one linesman due to Scott Cherrey being hit accidentally by a puck. He left the game with 10:50 left. Hopefully, he’ll be okay.

With just over three minutes left, on some Habs pressure, both Gavrikov and Alex Newhook got into a wrestling match in front of the net, taking each other down. Both went off for roughing, leading to another four-on-four. It took one of the Rangers’ best defensemen off the ice. It was a great opportunity for the Habs.

Without Gavrikov, Sullivan moved up Braden Schneider with Fox. It was Miller, Cuylle, Fox, and Schneider matched up against Suzuki, Caufield, Hutson, and Dobson. Caufield got int some open space in the slot and let go of a good wrist shot that Quick was able to get a piece of to keep it out. That proved to be the difference.

Despite some more Canadiens pressure with Montembeault lifted for a six-on-five, Quick made a couple of more stops to preserve the Rangers win.