WASHINGTON — It was a merry night for the Rangers in our nation’s capital.
Bearing down in the third period with five goals, the Blueshirts overcame their second one-goal deficit of the night and snagged a 7-3 win over the Capitals on Tuesday night to go into the three-day holiday break with some much-needed Christmas cheer.
Ending an otherwise tumultuous month on a high note was imperative for this Rangers team.
Coming off of laying an egg in Nashville, a response was necessary.
It was far from a sure-thing victory, but the visitors pulled through when they needed to.
“Big win,” said Alexis Lafrenière, whose 100th career goal counted as the game-winner after he sat at No. 99 since Dec. 7. “Down after two, and we come back and play a really big third like that. It’s really good for us right before break, just to have a big win like that.”
In his return to D.C., Taylor Raddysh scored two goals, including the game-tying score in the third period. It counted as his first two goals since Oct. 30, first putting the Rangers up 1-0 in the opening 20 minutes before knotting the game at 3-3 at the 8:10 mark of the final frame.
Lafrenière then got a stick on an Artemi Panarin shot from the top of the zone to capture the Rangers’ first lead of the game since the first period.
Will Cuylle of the New York Rangers celebrates a goal in the second period against the Washington Capitals on Dec. 23, 2025. NHLI via Getty Images
The Rangers just kept producing as if they were backed up with goals. Off a faceoff win later in the final frame, Vincent Trocheck padded the Rangers’ lead with his seventh goal of the season.
Panarin’s empty-net goal only sealed the deal before Trocheck netted another to cap the scoring.
“I was happy for the players,” head coach Mike Sullivan said after the win. “They’ve worked so hard to try to generate more offense. It’s nice to see the puck go in the net for them.”
Despite making up for it in the third, the Rangers endured another shaky second period.
After giving up four goals — two on the power play and one short-handed — to the Flyers on Saturday, Rangers goalie Igor Shesterkin had three hung on him in the middle frame Tuesday night.
Ryan Leonard of the Washington Capitals races for a loose puck against Braden Schneider of the New York Rangers. NHLI via Getty Images
Limited to five shots on goal through each of the first two periods, the Rangers allowed Washington to rack up 15 through the second period alone on the way to 32 on the night.
It didn’t take the Capitals very long to get going. Just 23 seconds into the second period, John Carlson whipped the puck right under Shesterkin’s blocker to even the score at 1-1. Shesterkin did his best to shake it off, denying Justin Sourdif on the doorstep to keep the game tied.
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With Carson Soucy in the box for holding, Shesterkin appeared to rob Dylan Strome on the Capitals’ power play to the shock of the fans in attendance. After a review from the situation room in Toronto, however, it was determined that the puck “completely crossed the line” to give the Capitals a 2-1 edge.
In an unfortunate situation for the Rangers, Shesterkin couldn’t make the save despite having the puck in his glove.
“That was pretty insane to even think he had a chance of making that save,” Raddysh said. “That’s the only thing that sucks about cameras. You can’t really hide from anything. That one, I guess, just crossed the line, but it was a heck of a save by him.”
Washington was 16-0-0 this season when leading after two periods — until Tuesday night.
The victory counted as the first time since Feb. 22, 1972 that the Rangers trailed heading into the third period and ended up winning by four or more goals.
A Christmas miracle indeed.