NEW YORK, N.Y. — The New York Rangers defeated the Anaheim Ducks 5-2 on Monday night at Madison Square Garden after dropping their last two games on the road.
After winning six of their first eight games, the Rangers dropped their past two contests on the road against the New Jersey Devils and Columbus Blue Jackets, looking to bounce back against a young Anaheim Ducks squad.
The Rangers continued their trend of scoring early at MSG as Sean Durzi threw on a long wrister that found the back of the net to give New York a 1-0 lead at 1:18 of the first period.
The momentum was firmly in the Rangers’ favor as Ducks forward Jeff Malott went to the box for high-sticking at 2:23, giving New York its first power play of the game. While on the power play, Anaheim took another penalty as Nick Jensen went to the box for throwing the puck over the glass, giving the Rangers an abbreviated 5-on-3 power play.
Despite a few good chances, the Rangers were unable to convert on either power play.
With 12:52 remaining in the period, Rangers rookie defenseman Alberts Šmits was called for holding, giving Anaheim its first chance with the man advantage.
Dylan Garand didn’t face many shots on the penalty kill aside from a couple of low danger attempts, and the score remained 1-0 in favor of New York.
At the end of the period, the Rangers led the Ducks 1-0.
The second period got underway, and the Rangers kept the pressure on Anaheim with several scoring chances early in the frame.
At 3:52 of the period, Ducks rookie forward Nikita Klepov was sent to the box for tripping, giving the Rangers their third power play of the game.
The Rangers connected on the power play as Adam Fox fired a long shot on net that was tipped in front by captain J.T. Miller for his second goal of the season, giving New York a 2-0 lead.
The Rangers weren’t done there, as Mika Zibanejad found a wide-open Gabe Perreault near the crease at 10:17 of the second period to give New York a 3-0 lead. It was Perreault’s fourth goal of the season.
With 8:03 remaining in the second, Zibanejad took a high stick to the face on a follow through from Nick Jensen. The referees determined that there was no penalty on the play because it was a follow through. It’s difficult to explain exactly how that makes sense, but the Ducks got away with one as Zibanejad headed to the locker room for repairs.
The Rangers proved they didn’t need a power play to capitalize, as Oliver Bjorkstrand scored unassisted after a takeaway in the offensive zone. He zipped the puck past Ducks goaltender Ville Husso to give New York a 4-0 lead.
At 17:03 of the period, Klepov went back to the box for holding, giving the Rangers another man advantage.
Unfortunately for New York, the power play was quickly erased when Eeli Tolvanen was called for interference.
After two periods, the Rangers led Anaheim 4-0.
Bjorkstrand scored his second goal of the game to give New York a 5-0 lead at 3:26 of the third period. The Rangers were making an example of a Ducks team that had been heavily criticized for how it handled its offseason moves.
The Ducks scored twice late in the third period, but it wasn’t enough, and the Rangers secured a 5-2 victory.
The Rangers’ next game is Thursday, when the team travels to Toronto to take on the Maple Leafs at Scotiabank Arena. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m.
