Alexis Lafreniere ties it late, then scores shootout winner for Rangers

A few nights ago, Rangers coach Peter Laviolette said that when a team is winning games and having the success the Blueshirts are having right now, it’s never just one reason why the team is rolling. A lot of things have to go right.

And that’s what’s happening with Laviolette’s team right now.

Jonathan Quick was back in the net Sunday for the Rangers and although he played well, the Blueshirts were stymied by Columbus goalie Elvis Merzlikins — and perhaps by the decision of the NHL’s situation room in Toronto that denied them the tying goal late in the second period.

But with the way they’ve been playing, of course the Rangers found a way to win. Down a goal with time running out, they tied it on Alexis Lafreniere’s second goal, a six-on-five effort with 11.7 seconds left that forced overtime.

Lafreniere then scored the only goal of the shootout to give the Rangers a 4-3 victory and a sweep of their three-game homestand.

“That was cool,’’ Lafreniere said of his tying goal. “The crowd was really loud tonight . . . It was fun.’’

“That was a wild one for sure,’’ Laviolette said. “The guys, inside of a game that wasn’t going our way for most of the night, went out in the third period and really delivered hard to make sure that we tried to get points — a point, two points — and they fought and competed hard to get that . . . So it was a good, hard-fought win.’’

The Rangers extended their point streak to 10 games (9-0-1) and upped their overall record to 11-2-1. Quick was solid in net with 26 saves — plus three more in the shootout — as Igor Shesterkin missed his fourth straight game.

Artemi Panarin had two assists to extend his point streak to start the season to 14 games, which tied the franchise record held by Rod Gilbert (1972-73).

“That means, honestly, a lot for me,’’ Panarin said of tying the scoring record. “Thanks for my [linemates] and then the fans for their support.’’

A pair of goals 19 seconds apart midway through the second period gave Columbus a 3-2 lead, but the Rangers thought they tied it late in the period on a goal by rookie Will Cuylle. However, after a lengthy video review, the play was ruled no goal.

The Rangers had a great chance to tie it when they had a five-on-three advantage for 1:09 early in the third period. But despite all the pressure they put on Merzlikins (37 saves), they failed to score.

Ryan Lindgren left the game after a hit by Columbus’ Sean Kuraly at 1:30 of the third period. Laviolette said he suffered an upper-body injury.

Kuraly initially was given a five-minute major penalty for boarding Lindgren, but after a video review, it was reduced to a minor penalty. Laviolette disagreed with the ruling.

“I thought they had the right call originally,’’ he said. “There was something going on through the course of the game with both of those guys, and [Kuraly's] elbow clearly took [Lindgren] in the head.’’

By Colin Stephenson

colin.stephenson@newsday.comColinSNewsday

Colin Stephenson covers the Rangers for Newsday. He has spent more than two decades covering the NHL and just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.