The Rangers played a much better game repaying the Sabres for their 3-2 loss on Tuesday with a 3-2 victory of their own Thursday. Alexis Lafreniere scored his first NHL goal as the game-winner in overtime off a beautiful feed for Colin Blackwell. Igor Shesterkin was solid between the pipes and the Blueshirts will look for two in a row Saturday versus the Penguins.

Game recap:


Coach David Quinn mixed-and-match lines, changing it up in the second before restoring the lines that started the game in the third. He was forced to change it up a bit, as Ryan Strome was dealing with a mild injury that is not expected to sideline him Saturday. Where it got interesting was in the overtime.

First and third: 13-93-89, 10-16-43, 20-21-24 and 48-17-33
Second period: 10-93-89, 13-21-43  20-16-24 and 48-17-33

Overtime trios:. If you watched the last three games and last night's especially, Blackwell totally deserved to be there. His speed was a weapon throughout the game and he has been one of the team's better forwards. Beyond just the goal in OT, he made two excellent defensive plays on Jack Eichel. 

Zibanejad-Panarin-Fox 
Kreider-Buchnevich-DeAngelo 
Lafreniere-Blackwell-Miller

Quinn on Blackwell:. The comment was 100-% correct. Who cares where he was drafted. if he deserves to play, he should play. Draft status, if high, will get more chances. But as we have seen, if you are a bust and/or don't deserve to play, you shouldn't and usually won't. Eventually the league will figure it out and you will sit and be gone. Blackwell deserves his spot in the lineup and deserved to be on the ice in OT.

"What can happen in this game is we get so caught up where people are drafted...I don't give two craps about that right now, we want to win hockey games"

David Quinn knows Colin Blackwell is a valuable piece for the Rangers to have right now pic.twitter.com/BBOFkAyOW3

— Rangers Videos (@SNYRangers) January 29, 2021

Lafreniere game-winner. The gorilla is off his back. You know it was close. He just missed earlier in the game and the concern had to be if he would grip his stick too tight. Great play on the forecheck by Blackwell and finish by Laf. The team's reaction was great and love Quinn referring to Lafreniere as "ballsy."

You just knew Lafreniere's 1st was gonna be an OT winner didn't you!!!! OH BABY!!!!! #NYR pic.twitter.com/1NabrI8RJy

— Rangers on MSG (@RangersMSGN) January 29, 2021

LAF RE NYR pic.twitter.com/WLOLW99PjM

— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) January 29, 2021

So the lines, since mid-1st:

What it sounded like on the ice after Laf buried it 🔊 🔊 pic.twitter.com/97fL9vtWbQ

— Rangers on MSG (@RangersMSGN) January 29, 2021

Great and much needed win. Now build on that and do it again. Still some concerns points, including the power play, which doesn't have enough movement and needs tweaks, even after moving Pavel Buchnevich up. In addition, the top line is still struggling, especially Mika Zibanejad. Defensively, the team was better, K'Andre Miller will learn to get positioning and use his long stick to deflect cross-ice passes. Presuming Strome is okay, lineup and lines/pairings should be the same with Igor - who was solid in the win - back between the pipes.

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