Vladislav Gavrikov keeps doing the kind of work that doesn’t always jump off the score sheet, but it keeps the New York Rangers humming.
On Sunday at Madison Square Garden, while Tye Kartye, Will Cuylle, Dylan Garand and Alexis Lafreniere drew most of the attention in a 6-2 rout of the Vancouver Canucks, Gavrikov was once again one of the most important players on the ice for New York.
The 30-year-old defenseman logged 20:22 of ice time, including 1:15 on the Rangers’ lone penalty kill of the night, and quietly put together another strong all-around outing. At 5-on-5, he was on the ice for four New York goals and one against as the Rangers controlled play with a 19-9 edge in scoring chances and an 8-0 advantage in high-danger chances. With Gavrikov out there, New York owned a 74.28 percent expected-goal share at 5-on-5, according to Natural Stat Trick, and outshot Vancouver 13-5.
That impact showed up again on the goal that ended up deciding the game. Gavrikov made the quick puck movement that started the sequence, J.T. Miller sent a cross-ice pass to Kartye, and Kartye finished his second goal past Kevin Lankinen to push the Rangers ahead 3-2 late in the second period before the intermission.
He’s already up to five points, with one goal and four assists, leaving him just one behind Adam Fox. He also leads the Rangers with 15 blocked shots.
And this is not some one-night burst. Last season, when Fox missed 27 games because of injury, Gavrikov produced career highs with 14 goals and 35 points while averaging nearly 24 minutes of ice time across all 82 games.
The fit with Fox has been a big part of why the Rangers’ defense has looked so solid, but the numbers also suggest Fox gets a boost from playing beside Gavrikov. The source material points out that Fox’s effectiveness dips when he’s paired with rookie Alberts Smits, usually after a New York penalty kill.
The Rangers’ appreciation for Gavrikov has to go beyond the usual stat line. His game is built on smart reads, clean passes, a heavy shot, poise and a steady, blue-collar approach. Signed to a seven-year, $49 million contract in the summer of 2025, he might already be Chris Drury’s best move as Rangers general manager - and maybe his biggest bargain, too.
Elsewhere around the league, Connor Bedard took a step forward with the Chicago Blackhawks, participating in his first full-contact practice after offseason shoulder surgery.
In Philadelphia, the Flyers’ rough start kept getting rougher. Fans chanted “Fire Tocchet!” during a 4-1 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes, dropping the Flyers to 0-5-2 with a pile of injuries and putting coach Rick Tocchet back under the spotlight one year after leading the team back into the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The Flyers also placed Travis Konecny on injured reserve with a lower-body injury.
And in Toronto, the Maple Leafs are preparing to make do without “heart-and-soul” defenseman Chris Tanev for a stretch after he was placed on IR with an upper-body injury this past weekend.
In Other News...
Wolf Pack Keep Making The Same Costly Mistake In Losses
Hartfords first meeting with Laval this season started the way the Wolf Pack would have hoped, with Anton Blidh getting them on the board on the power play. But the Rocket steadily turned the game in their favor and pulled away for a 5-2 win, a result that reinforced how quickly one mistake can shift a matchup in the AHL, especially against a team the Wolf Pack will see several more times over the course of the season.
For Hartford, the loss fit a frustrating pattern of games where early positives have not been enough to hold up over 60 minutes. Jay Leach pointed to a roster that is working through injuries and fatigue while younger players continue adjusting to the demands of pro hockey, a process that can show up most when discipline slips and the margin for error shrinks. [Read more 🡒]
Rangers Young Core Delivered The Response Fans Needed After Shesterkin Shock
The night after losing Igor Shesterkin for the season, the Rangers needed something resembling a reset, and they got it in a hurry against Vancouver. New Yorks young group supplied the energy and the finishing touch, piling up offense in a way that had been hard to find at times this season, with Tye Kartye and Will Cuylle each scoring twice and Alexis Lafreniere adding another goal in the 6-2 win.
Gabe Perreault was part of that response, too, setting up Lafreniere on the power play before scoring later himself. For a team suddenly trying to recalibrate without its No. 1 goalie, that kind of contribution from the next wave matters as much as the result, because the Rangers are going to need more nights like this if they want to steady things from here. [Read more 🡒]
Oilers Start Is Raising One Big Lineup Question
The early part of the Oilers season has already produced one of those small-sample shifts that gets people talking, with Auston Matthews piling up two four-point games in six outings under Jim Hiller after managing only one over two full seasons for Craig Berube. Edmontons own momentum has only added to the noise, as the club moved to 4-0-1 with a win over San Jose and now looks close to getting Zach Hyman back while rookie Owen Michaels could be in line for a larger role.
For the Rangers, the interest around all of it is tied to a different kind of uncertainty. New York is still sorting through its goaltending picture, and the chatter has naturally drifted toward possible external help as the team waits on Igor Shesterkins status and continues without Joonas Korpisalo, but the cap realities make the market tricky to navigate. However that search develops, the sense around the league is that the Rangers are not looking at a splashy long-term answer, which keeps the focus on a more immediate, stopgap solution. [Read more 🡒]