The Rangers needed a clean response, and they got one. Back home against the St. Louis Blues for the first time this season, New York ended a four-game skid with a 3-1 win, while the Blues saw their own two-game run come to a stop.
It was the kind of night where the Rangers had to piece together a full 60 minutes, and they did just that. A few players stood out in particular, with Adam Fox setting the tone early and Dylan Garand giving the team the kind of goaltending that can steady everything around it.
Fox was the obvious headliner. Coming into the game as an X-Factor, he backed it up by scoring his second goal of the season and adding an assist for a two-point night.
That pushed him to 19 points on the year, and he remains right in the Norris Trophy conversation. With plenty of season left, he’s also on pace for a career year.
J.T. Miller was right there with him among the Rangers’ multi-point performers.
Facing Mason McTavish on the other side, the Rangers captain came away with two assists and finished with his 12th point in 16 games. He’s on pace for 63 points this season, and while this was a strong showing, he still has more to give if he wants to match the price New York paid for him.
Eeli Tolvanen also found his way back onto the scoresheet. On a new-look third line with Will Cuylle at center, Tolvanen picked up an assist earlier in the period on Oliver Bjorkstrand’s sixth goal of the year, then later added an empty-netter for his fourth goal of the 2026-27 season. It’s been a stop-start year for him, but this outing could be a step toward turning that around.
And then there was Garand. Entering the night as the key X-factor, he delivered exactly what the Rangers needed by stopping 32 of 33 shots. More than anything, he helped pull the team out of its four-game rut, and that made him one of the night’s clear winners.
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Rangers Season Already Hinges On A Problem This Roster Must Solve
The Rangers have already been forced into an uncomfortable reset in net, and it comes at a time when the rest of the roster is still trying to find enough consistency to keep the season on track. Igor Shesterkins absence has left a massive void, and with the team also dealing with defensive issues and uneven play, every night now feels a little more precarious than it should this early in the year.
Dylan Garand has been handed the job and, at least in his first outing, gave the Rangers a reason to believe they can survive the stretch ahead. But one win does not erase the larger problem facing this group, especially with the recent losing streak adding to the pressure and the playoff picture already looking less certain than anyone around the team would like. [Read more 🡒]
Rangers Need These 4 X Factors To Stop The Slide Against St. Louis
A four-game losing streak has put the Rangers in a tough spot as they head into a matchup with the Blues, who arrive with a little momentum of their own after winning two straight. For New York, the margin for error feels thin, and the path to getting back on track runs through a handful of players who can tilt the game in different ways, from steadiness in goal to a more dangerous look up front and a cleaner night on the back end.
Dylan Garand looms as a major piece of that equation, while Adam Fox and Pavel Dorofeyev are among the skaters expected to shape the Rangers response against a St. Louis team that has been harder to chase than it once looked. Alexis Lafrenire is also part of the conversation, but this is the kind of game where New York needs more than a name on the lineup card. It needs its key players to turn recent frustration into something that starts to look like a reset. [Read more 🡒]
Noah Laba Has One Problem The Rangers Cant Ignore
Noah Laba opened the season in a spot the Rangers hoped would give their third line some bite, centering Will Cuylle and Eeli Tolvanen and giving the trio a look that has fit together well. The line has brought the kind of energy and structure that coaches like, and Laba has done enough in the middle to keep the job for now, even as the team continues sorting out its depth down the middle.
The issue is what has not come with that chemistry. Laba has yet to score through 14 games, and while he has chipped in four assists, the lack of finishing touch leaves his long-term hold on the role a little less secure than his all-around play might suggest. For a Rangers team trying to build reliable center depth, that becomes a real question when there is another young option waiting for a chance to make his case. [Read more 🡒]