Vladislav Gavrikov didn’t look like he would finish the game.
Then, he helped end it.
After getting drilled with a high slap shot early in the second period — requiring a stoppage of play and an on-ice visit from Rangers trainer Andy Hosler after Gavrikov fell to a knee — the team’s big free agent acquisition went to the bench, then returned to deliver a pair of game-deciding assists in the team’s 3-2 win over the Blues at Madison Square Garden.
“[It was] not in the face, that’s most important,” Gavrikov said. “Everything was fine after that. It just took a few minutes to get it back after that.”
With the score tied in the opening minute of the third period, Gavrikov fired a shot from just inside the blue line, which ricocheted off Alexis Lafrenière into the net.
The defenseman then chased a rebound behind the net, before delivering a beautiful backhand to Adam Edstrom, putting the Rangers up 3-1 with 11:04 to play.
Gavrikov, who has never produced more than 33 points in any of his first six seasons, has recorded four points in the past two games.
“When we think of Vladdy we always talk about his defensive prowess … but I think his ability to make some plays off the offensive blue line, they’re sneaky good,” coach Mike Sullivan said. “He’s been involved in a fair amount of goals here in the last little while just by making pretty good decisions along that offensive blue line.”
J.T. Miller missed his second straight game since suffering an upper-body injury Thursday in Colorado. The captain remains day-to-day. … Vincent Trocheck was held out of Monday’s morning skate for precautionary reasons, but took the ice to score his fourth goal of the season. … Edstrom scored his second goal in the past three games since being a healthy scratch in Las Vegas.
Seven weeks after being the last cut at training camp, Brett Berard made his season debut.
After being called up from AHL Hartford, the 23-year-old winger made his presence felt, putting a pair of shots on net, while also being called for a late high-sticking double minor in just 9:21 of action.
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In the opening minutes, Berard nearly knocked in a rebound attempt, but hit the side of the net.
Later in the first period, he fired a high wrist shot, which was saved by the Blues’ Joel Hofer.
“I thought he played well. I would’ve liked him to be a little more responsible with his stick in the third … but I really liked his energy,” Sullivan said. “I thought he brought some speed. He had a couple good looks at the net. He can shoot the puck. He’s a good kid. He plays hard. We anticipated he would bring some juice and he did.”
Berard admitted he struggled after being sent down the day before the season began.
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Though he appeared in 35 games with the Rangers as a rookie, a promotion was difficult to imagine as he was held without a point through his first five AHL games and without a goal for more than five weeks (14 games), while teammates received tickets to New York.
“Getting sent down from camp that late stinks,” Berard said Monday morning. “I don’t know what it was, [but] I kind of lost a little confidence there. It was hard to get my game back, but I think it was also good, a challenge of mental toughness to go through a little funk like that at the start of the year. Especially the last two weeks, I’ve felt really confident in my game … I tried to have a positive mindset down there and tried to get back up here.
“You’re always confident in yourself. You always think you belong.”
Jonny Brodzinski moved up to the second line, alongside Trocheck and Artemi Panarin. After making just three appearances in the season’s first three weeks, Brodzinski saw the ice for the fifth straight game, and recorded his second assist of the season … Backup goaltender Jonathan Quick was unavailable with a lower-body injury, following a collision with Utah’s Michael Carcone in Saturday’s loss.
