Rangers’ depth saves scuffling stars again with Alex Wennberg’s Game 3 heroics

SUNRISE, Fla. — The through line all playoffs for the Rangers’ third line — and the through line since being acquired at the trade deadline for Alex Wennberg — was that the analytics said a lot of good things and the actual on-ice results didn’t say much at all.

Not anymore.

Wennberg, whom the Rangers sent a second-round pick along with a 2025 fifth-rounder to Seattle to obtain in early March, broke a scoring drought that dated all the way back to March 19 at the best possible time for the Rangers on Sunday evening.

With the Rangers having let a two-goal lead go to waste and spending much of the third period under siege, Game 3 of these Eastern Conference Final felt like it was going the wrong way until Wennberg got free off a faceoff and set himself up in front of the net.

He tipped in Ryan Lindgren’s shot to steal a 5-4 victory for the Rangers in overtime and a 2-1 lead in the series with it.

“I feel like this is a team that it doesn’t matter who’s the hero, doesn’t matter who does it,” Wennberg said. “We’re all playing for one another. Maybe I haven’t put up the similar points but as a team, everything we do together and we have an end goal. So obviously it’s a great feeling, good for the confidence but I’m just happy about the team.”