{{pageModel.leagueAbbr}} {{pageModel.subtitle}} | Las Vegas Review-Journal
National Hockey League
NY Rangers 4, St. Louis 2
When: 7:00 PM ET, Friday, March 29, 2019
Where: Madison Square Garden, New York, New York
Referees: Wes McCauley, Jon McIsaac
Linesmen: Devin Berg, Pierre Racicot
Attendance: 17567

Jimmy Vesey scored the tiebreaking goal early in the third period Friday night for the New York Rangers, who stormed back from a two-goal first-period deficit and denied the St. Louis Blues a chance to clinch a playoff spot by handing the visitors a 4-2 loss.

The Blues later ended up earning a postseason berth when Colorado defeated Arizona in a 3-2 shootout victory.

Vesey scored on the rebound of a shot by Brett Howden to cap a chaotic sequence deep in the Blues' zone. Howden had a point-blank shot and a backhanded attempt turned away by St. Louis goalie Jordan Binnington before Vesey swooped in and tucked over the leg of the sprawled-out Binnington at the 5:47 mark.

Ryan Strome and Pavel Buchnevich tied the game by scoring within a span of 80 seconds early in the second period for the Rangers and Chris Kreider iced the victory with an empty-net goal with 7.3 seconds left as New York won for just the second time in nine games.

Goalie Alexandar Georgiev made 44 saves.

Vladimir Tarasenko and David Perron scored 27 seconds apart late in the first for the Blues (41-28-8), who had a four-game winning streak snapped and lost for just the second time in the last six games.

Binnington recorded 21 saves.

Tarasenko helped create the Blues' first goal by combining with center Ryan O'Reilly to steal the puck from Mike Zibanejad along the boards to the left of the Rangers' net. O'Reilly then passed to Brayden Schenn, who fed Tarasenko, who jammed the puck in between Georgiev's skate and the post with 5:25 left in the first.

Another turnover by the Rangers helped the Blues double the lead. St. Louis center Oskar Sundqvist swiped the puck from Brendan Smith to begin a sequence that ended with Perron, who was alone in front of the net, tapping home a pass from Jaden Schwartz.

A pair of Blues turnovers led to the Rangers tying the game in the second. Pat Maroon's pass was intercepted in the neutral zone by Vladislav Namestnikov, whose breakaway shot was first slowed by Binnington before the goalie swept the puck out of the crease. But St. Louis could not clear the puck and Strome crashed the net and scored an unassisted goal at 2:22.

Kreider and the Blues' Colton Parayko both slipped while chasing a loose puck deep in the St. Louis zone. Zibanejad picked it up and passed to Buchnevich, who went to one knee and fired a shot past the glove of Binnington.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
St. Louis   NY Rangers
David Perron 1 Points Pavel Buchnevich 2
David Perron 1 Goals Pavel Buchnevich 1
Ryan O'Reilly 1 Assists Pavel Buchnevich 1
N/A Power Play Goals N/A
N/A Short Handed Goals N/A
Jordan Binnington .875 Save Percentage Alexandar Georgiev .957
Jordan Binnington 21 Saves Alexandar Georgiev 44
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
St. Louis 46 2 0-1 2-2 4 20
NY Rangers 25 4 0-2 1-1 2 24
Upcoming Games
  • NY Rangers will play their next game on the road against Philadelphia. The Rangers have a W/L % of .300 after a win and .447 after a loss.
  • St. Louis will play their next game on the road against New Jersey. The Blues have a W/L % of .488 after a win and .583 after a loss.