Igor Shesterkin had a hand in the offense, Vincent Trocheck got a proper Garden welcome, and the Rangers kept rolling Sunday night.
New York beat the Utah Mammoth 4-2 at Madison Square Garden, extending its winning streak to three straight in regulation and improving to 2-0-0 at home this season. The Rangers never gave up the lead and finished the night with three third-period goals to hand Utah its first loss and drop the Mammoth to 2-1-0.
Trocheck’s return was one of the night’s early storylines. The center, who spent four seasons with the Rangers, was back at MSG for the first time since New York dealt him to Utah on July 1 in exchange for defenseman Sean Durzi and center prospect Cole Beaudoin. The Garden crowd greeted him warmly.
The game had a chippy edge from the start, and Will Cuylle was right in the middle of it. He piled up 11 minutes in penalties, taking a roughing minor in the first period, a four-minute double-minor for boarding and roughing in the second, and later dropping the gloves with Jack McBain in the third.
Even with the penalties, the Rangers found a way to win at five-on-five. They scored all four of their goals at even strength, and Vladislav Gavrikov drove the offense with a goal and an assist to earn first-star honors. Shesterkin also picked up a secondary assist on Eeli Tolvanen’s empty-net goal at 18:45 of the third period, giving him a point for the second straight game.
New York’s special teams had a mixed night. The Rangers went 0-for-4 on the power play, while the penalty kill surrendered its first power-play goal of the season when Nick Schmaltz buried a rebound in the second period. Still, the Rangers did enough at even strength to stay in control.
The scoring started late in the first period, after Utah had actually controlled more of the play. The Mammoth outshot New York 6-5 and held a 58.58 percent expected-goal share in the opening frame, according to Natural Stat Trick, but Gavrikov broke the scoreless tie at 17:01. Adam Fox nudged the puck to the point, Gavrikov stepped into a wrister through traffic, and the Rangers carried a 1-0 lead into the intermission.
Utah answered at 14:29 of the second. Cuylle’s double minor gave the Mammoth a lengthy advantage, and Schmaltz finished off the sequence by burying the rebound through Shesterkin’s five-hole. The goal came on Utah’s sixth power-play score in nine chances this season.
The Rangers took the lead for good just 3:15 into the third. Karel Vejmelka stopped Alexis Lafreniere on a 2-on-1, but the rebound kicked out to Gabe Perreault, who snapped it home before the Utah goalie could recover.
J.T. Miller added some breathing room at 12:47, steering a long Gavrikov shot into the net with his skate to make it 3-1. Utah made things uncomfortable again when Andrew Peeke fired a sharp wrist shot from the right dot at 14:57, cutting it to 3-2, but New York held on from there.
There was another strange twist late. Joe Veleno was injured after getting tangled with Clayton Keller along the boards and had to be helped to the locker room. The Rangers ruled him out with a lower-body injury at the end of the first intermission, and New York played the rest of the game with one fewer skater.
With 1:45 left, Utah pulled Vejmelka, giving Shesterkin another chance to join the attack. This time he didn’t shoot, but he did set up the empty-net sequence by passing to Cuylle, who helped spring Tolvanen for the final goal. Utah emptied the net again with under a minute left, and Shesterkin briefly looked for the open cage himself before the Mammoth kept the puck away from the goal mouth.
The Rangers now sit with the NHL’s best record at six points through their first eight games, at 3-1-0. They’re back at MSG on Tuesday to host the New York Islanders, with puck drop set for 7:30 p.m. EST.
In Other News...
Rangers Suddenly Have A Center Depth Problem They Can't Ignore
Joe Velenos night ended almost as soon as it began against the Utah Mammoth, and the Rangers were left sorting through the fallout of a lower-body injury that came early in the first period. Veleno was hurt while trying to slow down a Mammoth forward and needed help off the ice before being ruled out for the rest of the game, an abrupt exit for a team that has leaned on its center depth to keep things steady.
The concern for New York goes beyond one lost shift because the roster does not currently feature an extra center. If Velenos injury keeps him out longer than just one game, the Rangers may have to look to Hartford for reinforcements, turning a single in-game injury into a depth problem they cant really afford to let linger. [Read more 🡒]
Rangers Win At MSG Came With One Immediate Concern
The Rangers got the kind of result they needed at Madison Square Garden, beating the Utah Mammoth 4-2 in a game that had plenty of scoring and just enough pushback to keep the crowd engaged. Vladislav Gavrikov, Gabe Perreault, J.T. Miller and Eeli Tolvanen all found the net for New York, while Nick Schmaltz and Andrew Peeke answered for Utah, giving the home side a win that looked comfortable enough on the surface.
Joe Velenos exit was the immediate concern, though, and it cast a shadow over an otherwise productive night. Veleno was hurt in the first period and had to leave the game, a development the Rangers will be watching closely as they sort through what the result means and what the next lineup decision might have to be. [Read more 🡒]
Rangers Already Look Stronger In One Area Fans Hated Last Year
The early returns around Madison Square Garden have been encouraging for the Rangers, and one of the clearest reasons has been a steadier, more productive bottom six. New York has opened 3-1-0 through four games, and the depth forwards have looked more effective than they did a year ago, giving the lineup a more balanced feel in the kind of stretches that often decide whether a good team turns into a dangerous one.
Igor Shesterkin has helped set the tone with a strong start in goal, and the Rangers have also checked an important box at home after a sluggish beginning in that building last season. It is still early, but with the goalie play firming up and the supporting cast doing more of its share, the areas that frustrated fans last year are looking a lot less like liabilities right now. [Read more 🡒]