For the first time in 102 days, the Rangers won a game on home ice in regulation.
A 6-2 beating of the Maple Leafs Thursday night snapped a 19-game streak without a regulation victory at Madison Square Garden, a stretch dating back to before Thanksgiving on Nov. 24 against the Blues.
In a clash between two of the most disappointing teams in the Eastern Conference, the Rangers prevailed while sitting two players — Vincent Trocheck and Sam Carrick — for roster management purposes.
Both skaters are expected to be traded before the 3 p.m. trade deadline on Friday.
Scoring his 14th goal of the season, Alexis Lafrenière gave the Rangers their first lead of the night just over 5 ½ minutes into the third period.
Toronto had taken the lead on two separate occasions, once in the first and again in the second, but the Blueshirts answered every time.
The organization capped its centennial theme nights by honoring those who were a quintessential part of the 15 postseason appearances since 2004.
Glen Sather, Henrik Lundqvist, Sean Avery, Marian Gaborik and so many more were acknowledged in a pregame ceremony.
It made for a joyous start to the night, but then the puck was dropped.
Just 13 seconds later, the Blueshirts were already trailing.
Matias Maccelli had Toronto on the board before the home team even realized the game had started.
The Rangers were able to tie it up not too long after.
Will Cuylle, who later scored an empty-net goal, got a stick on Braden Schneider’s shot to tie the game at one-all.
Just under 5 ½ minutes into an evenly matched second period, the Maple Leafs regained the lead off a goal from Easton Cowan.
The lead did not last long, however, with the Rangers responding approximately two minutes later.
Vladislav Gavrikov buried a long rebound on the power play for his 11th goal of the season.
Offensively, the Russian defenseman has been a revelation for the Blueshirts.
His 11 goals rank him among the top-15 in scoring among blueliners in the NHL.
The Rangers broke the game open with three unanswered goals in the third period.
While Lafrenière notched the game-winner, Jaroslav Chmelar scored his first NHL goal at the 10:25 mark of the final frame.
He took it himself on an odd-man rush and had a massive smile on his face after seeing the puck go in.
Mika Zibanejad later added another, recording his 25th goal of the season.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: nypost.com
