SEATTLE — This was a character-building road trip for the Rangers.
Capping their longest stretch away from Madison Square Garden this season with a 3-2 overtime victory over the Kraken on Saturday night, the Blueshirts headed home with their first three-game win streak in tow after going 3-1 on the western swing.
Will Cuylle scored 2:41 into the extra period to put a bow on a strong stretch of play.
Aside from a lopsided loss in Calgary, the Rangers blanked the Canucks in J.T. Miller’s return to Vancouver before pulling out an overtime victory in Edmonton. They then played a nearly complete game in Seattle while facing two of their former longtime teammates in Ryan Lindgren and Kaapo Kakko for the first time.
The Rangers have struggled mightily at home to start the season, making this trip all the more important.
While wins are the most important, the team has seemingly built on every game as well.
The Rangers were aggressive through the opening 20 minutes, doubling their opponents in shots and hustling on both sides of the puck.
They attacked the net and were hunting for offense but also clogged the lanes and suffocated the Kraken on defense.
It allowed the visitors to strike first near the halfway mark of the period, when Vladislav Gavrikov wristed home his first goal as a Ranger from the top of the zone.
A power-play goal from Chandler Stephenson evened the score at one-all, but the Rangers regained the lead before the end of the period.
After poking the puck away from Matty Beniers and sending the Rangers on an odd-man rush, rookie Noah Laba cleaned up a rebound before barreling into the end boards. The goal was the second of his career and gave the Rangers a 2-1 lead.
When the Rangers got stuck in their zone in the second period, Brandon Montour’s one-timer from just above the circle evened the score once again.
The Rangers nearly retook the lead later in the middle frame. With seconds left on the power play, the Blueshirts converged on the Kraken net to jam the puck in. Cuylle went first in the handshake line as the Rangers celebrated what was initially ruled a good goal by the officials.
Shortly after, however, the refs overturned it on review.
