Rangers put ugly loss behind them with win over lowly Ducks

The Rangers saw two ends to the NHL’s spectrum in three days, beginning with the defending Stanley Cup champions and ending with the third-to-last team in the league last season.

After an uninspiring performance in a loss to the Panthers earlier in the week, the Blueshirts took care of business with a 2-1 win over the lowly Ducks on Saturday night at Madison Square Garden to get back into the win column.

“I thought we played a pretty good game,” head coach Peter Laviolette said. “They’re a good team, they create a lot. I thought we defended pretty well. [Goalie Jonathan Quick] made some big saves when we needed, he made some big saves at the end of the game.

“It was good to get through it, get a win coming off the game before that.”

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Ryan Lindgren, skating in his third game back from a stint on injured reserve following jaw surgery in the preseason, broke the scoring seal after hunting on offense all night long.

Sweeping in a feed from Artemi Panarin from behind the Ducks net, the 26-year-old defenseman scored his first goal of the season at the 4:13 mark of the third period. Panarin’s secondary assist on the play extended his season-opening point streak to eight straight games.

“Maybe it was just the game, but something Lavi always preaches is getting the defense up,” Lindgren said. “Having five guys contribute. We definitely need that.”

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Will Cuylle had to score twice to give the Rangers some insurance after his first was challenged and called back for offside on the play.

The Rangers third line generated some pressure around the Ducks net before Kaapo Kakko sent a feed/shot for Cuylle to tap in on the doorstep. It was imperative that he did so, considering Olen Zellweger cut the Rangers’ lead in half at the 12:38 mark of the final frame.

“No high too high, no low too low,” Cuylle said of his emotions having a goal disallowed before officially scoring the game-winner. “Just try to keep a level head. And I’m used to it by now.”

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Quick had to be sharp — and he was. The 38-year-old netminder had to make 32 saves on 33 shots to secure his second victory of the 2024-25 campaign.

There wasn’t much special teams play in this one, but Quick had to stand tall during the Ducks’ one and only power play in the first period. Anaheim held the offensive zone pretty well with the man-advantage, collecting four shots on goal.

Quick denied them all.l, robbing Mason McTavish twice to keep the game scoreless through what was ultimately just under 45 minutes.

“He was great,” Lindgren said of Quick. “We gave up too many chances, but that one in the slot – that glove save [on McTavish] – was something. He was tremendous all night.”

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