New York hockey fans were treated to a thriller on Sunday.
The Rangers capped a comeback from a three-goal deficit with a walk-off goal in the opening seconds of overtime for a 6-5 win over the Islanders in front of nearly 80,000 fans at MetLife Stadium.
The conclusion to the Stadium Series game required replay review as Artemi Panarin’s wrist shot crossed the goal line as the net came off its bearings. Officials ultimately ruled that the goal was good to secure the Rangers victory. The extra session wouldn’t have happened without a wild Rangers rally.
The Rangers forced overtime with two goals in the final five minutes of regulation after digging a 4-1 deficit early in the second period. Chris Kreider scored on a tip-in with 4:08 remaining in the third period to cut the Islanders’ lead to 5-4. Mika Zibanejad then scored on a slapshot with 1:29 remaining in regulation to tie the game at 5-5.
Then came the chaotic final 10 seconds of the game.
Islanders center Bo Horvat won the overtime faceoff, and defenseman Noah Dobson took control of the puck while skating backward toward the Islanders’ net. But the Islanders didn’t retain control for long.
Dobson sent an errant pass forward to Mathew Barzal that Panarin easily intercepted and controlled in front of the net. Panarin then deked Ilya Sorokin, sending the Islanders goalie flailing on his back, and knocked in a wrist shot that slowly slid over the goal line.
Before the puck crossed the goal line, Dobson slid into the net and knocked it off its bearings. Panarin was in the act of shooting as the net was knocked loose by a member of the defending team. Because of that, officials confirmed the goal, and the Rangers were declared winners.
When official Jake Brenk announced the decision, Rangers fans in attendance broke out in chants of jubilation. The win secured an NHL-best seven-game win streak for the Rangers capped by a victory over their New York rivals in one of the marquee events of the season.
The Rangers improve to 36-16-3 (75 points) with the win to extend their Metropolitan Division lead over the Carolina Hurricanes to six points. The Islanders fall to 22-18-14 (58 points) to fall 17 points behind the Rangers in fifth place in the division.
