TORONTO — This was a much different game and a much different Rangers team than the Maple Leafs saw just a week ago in New York.
Instead of open ice, free lanes and an easy first period, the Maple Leafs got hard puck battles, little room to work with and a top-notch opposing goaltender in the Blueshirts’ 5-2 victory Tuesday night at Scotiabank Arena.
The win extended the Rangers’ streak to three games, and was the fourth in their last five games.
Rangers goalie Igor Shesterkin, who gave up six goals on 29 shots in the meeting with Toronto last week at the Garden, rebounded in rather convincing fashion in the rematch Tuesday night.
With 16 saves in the second period alone en route to 31 on the night, Shesterkin came up big in big moments and fared much better against the Maple Leafs’ star players than he did last week.
That is, aside from Toronto captain Auston Matthews, who scored on two of his five shots to keep his team competitive throughout the night.
Matthews netted his second of the game less than a minute and a half into the third period to knot the score at two-all.
It was the Rangers’ 22-year-old defenseman, Braden Schneider, who scored the game-winner at the 8:08 mark of the final frame. Aggressively taking the puck to the net, Schneider notched just his second goal of the season to put the Rangers ahead.
Artemi Panarin then scored a power-play goal before Mika Zibanejad recorded an empty-net goal — his second goal of the night — to give the Rangers a comfortable cushion.
Neither team gave up much in the opening 20 minutes, as the Rangers outshot the Maple Leafs 12-5.
The Rangers, however, played a much better first period than when the Maple Leafs visited the Garden last week.
It may have been a low bar to clear, considering they went into the first intermission down 4-1 that night on the way to a 7-3 defeat, but the Rangers contained Toronto in a scoreless first frame on Tuesday.
A couple of fluky goals allowed the Rangers to take a one-goal lead in the middle frame, in addition to a strong showing from Shesterkin.
Still, the visitors created their own luck with disciplined play and some high energy on offense.
Blake Wheeler’s pass attempt on the rush pinballed off several skaters before the puck bounced off Zibanejad and in at the 6:11 mark of the second period.
Toronto may have answered less than a minute and a half later on a goal from captain Auston Matthews, but the Rangers earned their first power play of the night shortly after. When the first power-play unit couldn’t get it done, the second group came on with roughly 35 seconds left in the man-advantage.
Alexis Lafreniere then ended a 12-game goal drought from the top of the left faceoff circle, with a shot that ricocheted off Maple Leafs defenseman Morgan Rielly and in.