Top 6 Rangers moments from 2022-23 season

With their first-round exit at the hands of the rival New Jersey Devils, the Rangers' season came to an end.

After their great run last year and an extremely productive trade deadline, a season filled with such high expectations ended in disappointing fashion. New York was simply outhustled and outplayed for the majority of the seven-game series by a younger Devils team.

Though it wasn’t the ending the organization and Rangers fans had wished for, there were certainly a ton of highs along the way. It was a roller coaster of a season, but it was filled with some great moments.

Let’s take a look back at six (for Mr. Ranger) of the top moments, in no particular order, from the 2022-23 season…

1. Trouba’s helmet toss, sparking a great run of hockey

The Rangers were in the midst of playing one of their worst games of the season. The Chicago Blackhawks, riding an eight-game losing streak at the time, came to town and were absolutely steam rolling a flat Rangers team.

Captain Jacob Trouba decided to try to give his boys a bit of a wakeup call. The hard-hitting defenseman dropped the gloves late in the second period, and while skating to the locker room to serve his penalty, he tossed his helmet against the boards and screamed at the New York bench to wake up.

It didn’t send the message at the time, as New York went on to allow two third-period goals in a 5-2 loss, but it may have sparked a run of fantastic hockey.

From that point forward, the Rangers secured themselves as one of the top teams in the Metropolitan Division. They went on a seven-game winning streak, including road victories over the defending Stanley Cup champs Colorado Avalanche and the Las Vegas Golden Knights.

New York looked like a different team from that point. They looked like a team destined to do some great things, that is, right up until the postseason.

2. Red hot stretch from the Kid Line

After breaking out during the 2022 playoff run, the Rangers’ kid line was ready to roll this season. When the offense needed a bit of a burst, Gerard Gallant would turn to the kids for a spark.

With the trio reunited, Filip Chytil, Kappo Kakko, and Alexis Lafreniere dominated play for different periods of time.

Chytil, in particular, was one of the hottest players in hockey during a three-week stretch. He scored in five straight contests and recorded 16 points in a span of 15 games.

The young center earned himself an extension from the Rangers by setting career highs across the board. In 74 games, Chytil scored 22 times and dished out 23 assists for a total of 45 points.

Kakko shined at times as well, putting up 40 points (18 goals, 22 assists) in his fourth year in the league. Lafreniere had a bit of an up and down year, but recorded a career-high 39 points (16 goals, 23 assists).

Despite disappearing in the playoffs, the youngsters put their talents on display at times during the regular season, sometimes dominating play during stretches.

3. Tarasenko scores in first game at The Garden

Just days after being traded from the Blues, along with Niko Mikkola, Vladimir Tarasenko was preparing to take The Garden ice for the first time. He was met with a rousing ovation during introductions and didn’t take long before getting himself acclimated with the Blueshirt faithful.

On just his first shift on home ice (2:49 into the game), Tarasenko took a feed from his old friend, and now new linemate Artemi Panarin, and rifled home a shot for his first goal as a Ranger.

With the energy in the building, the Rangers were able to tally three first-period goals en route to a 6-3 win over the Seattle Kraken.

Tarasenko was a really nice deadline addition for the Rangers. He played up and down the lineup, was a reliable member on both the top and second power play units, and brought some valuable postseason experience.

Over 31 games in New York, he scored eight times and racked up 13 assists for a total of 21 points. Five of those points came on the power play and he added four more points during the series against the Devils.

If the Rangers can make it work this offseason, they should certainly consider bringing Tarasenko back next year.

4. Panarin’s four-goal game snap’s Carolina’s winning streak…again

Just a day later, New York was heading into Carolina to take on the red-hot Hurricanes on the second night of a back-to-back.

Despite looking a bit tired in the first period, the Rangers were able to jump out to an early lead on a Mika Zibanejad power-play goal. Carolina jumped back in front with two early goals in the second, but then Panarin decided it was time to take over.

Panarin scored with three minutes remaining in the period to even things at 2-2 heading into the final frame.

In that third period he scored three more times, including twice in the final five minutes, to help the Rangers secure the huge 6-2 win over the first place Canes.

This was the second time New York snapped a long Carolina winning streak. The first came a few months earlier at The Garden, where Panarin also helped lead the charge en route to a three-goal third period.

After a season in which he recorded 29 goals and 63 assists for a team-high 92 points, Panarin didn’t find his way onto the score sheet during the postseason.

I also have to give a little tip of the cap to Jaroslav Halak, who stopped 27-of-29 shots on the night. After a slow start to his first year with the Rangers, he settled in nicely and finished the year with a record of 10-9-5, a 2.72 GAA, and a .903 save percentage.

Even at the age of 37, the veteran goaltender was a solid and reliable backup to Igor Shesterkin all year long.

5. Crazy comeback in Edmonton leads to Laf shootout winner

In perhaps one of the best games of the entire NHL season, the Rangers pulled off an incredible comeback over the Edmonton Oilers.

Against one of the most prolific offenses in the league, New York got off to an extremely slow start. Edmonton scored three times in the first eight minutes, and found themselves leading 4-1 at the end of the first period.

The way these Rangers were playing at the time, though, you knew this game was far from over.

Chris Kreider scored his second goal of the game in the second, cutting the deficit in half, and Igor Shesterkin held Edmonton off the scoreboard. Lafreniere then added another just a minute and a half into the final frame, making it a one goal game.

The Rangers kept the pressure up but were stonewalled by Oilers goal Jack Campbell, until the power play went to work. As he did all season long, Zibanejad rifled home a one-timer from the top of the circle, completing the comeback and evening things at four.

After a back-and-forth, but scoreless, overtime session the two teams went to the shootout. Campbell and Shesterkin again made save after save, then Lafreniere fired home a backhander to secure the shootout win.

Lafreniere’s goal and eventual shootout winner couldn’t have come at a better time for the 21-year-old who was struggling to produce.

It helped the Rangers push their winning streak to seven games, though they ultimately saw that snapped the next day against Calgary in OT.

6. ‘Mika March’ brings dominant stretch of hockey

The Rangers owned the month of March, thanks to a dominant stretch of hockey from Zibanejad.

New York took points in seven straight contests, including back-to-back dominant wins over the Penguins. After putting up six goals against the Pens on home ice, the Rangers followed that up with a 7-0 rout of the Nashville Predators.

Six different Rangers lit the lamp that night, including Miller, who recorded a career game with two goals and two assists. Panarin added three points of his own and Zibanejad contributed two.

Across 16 games in the month of March, Zibanejad recorded a total of 18 points (seven goals, 11 assists). For his career, March has by far been his most productive month of the season with a total of 132 points.

While he added just one goal during the postseason, Zibanejad was the man for the Rangers for the majority of the year. Him and Kreider were a deadly duo on the talented Rangers power play.

Zibanejad finished the season with a career-high 39 goals and 92 points, 39 of which came with the man advantage. Kreider, who continued to be the best net front presence in hockey, finished with 36 goals.

** Igor Shesterkin’s continued brilliance **

Alright, I saved the best for last.

I know I said six moments, but I’d be crazy to write about top moments from this season and not discuss the play of Igor Shesterkin.

I could come up with six moments from Igor alone, but instead I’ll just take one section to give credit where credit certainly is due. The 27-year-old net-minder was incredible, yet again, all season long.

He was named to his first-career All-Star team and finished the season with a career-high 37 wins, for an overall record of 37-13-8 across 58 starts. He recorded three shutouts and posted a .916 save percentage and averaged 2.48 goals against.

Shesterkin was the rock for this Rangers team during both the regular season and postseason.

Without him between the pipes, that series against the Devils would’ve been a lot uglier and it would’ve been wrapped up a lot quicker. He posted a 1.97 GAA over the seven-game set.

Shesterkin was yet again one of the best goalies in hockey for the majority of the season. He even came close to landing his first career goal during the year.

With him between the pipes, the Rangers will undoubtedly remain among the top teams in the league for years to come.