Rangers Recap: Bjorkstrand Scores Twice as Rangers Rout Ducks, 5-2

With the first 10 games of the season in the books, the New York Rangers hosted the Anaheim Ducks, hungry for a bounce-back win. After picking up a point in a shutout loss on the road in Columbus, the Rangers looked to keep their home win streak alive while getting back in the win column.

Despite Luke Glendening joining the team on a tryout basis Monday morning, the lineup would remain the same as it was over the weekend.

First Period

It only took the Rangers 78 seconds to get on the board in this one. A strong zone entry from the second line began with Tye Kartye letting a shot go off the post and ended with a shot from Sean Durzi at the point trickling through Ville Husso to make it a 1-0 game early.

That's the third game in a row on home ice where the Rangers have scored within the first two minutes of play.

About a minute later, the Rangers got the game's first power play as Adam Fox took a stick up high, which sent Jeff Malott off for two minutes. After 75 seconds of the top unit fumbling through the advantage, Nick Jensen batted the puck over the glass, turning the Rangers' man advantage into a 5-on-3.

Pavel Dorofeyev, who was out for the entirety of the man advantage, might be the most snakebitten player in the entire league. He had a number of chances throughout the power play, one of which left him a wide-open net to shoot at, yet he somehow managed to find the post. Shortly after the teams returned to even strength, Alberts Smits was sent off for holding, giving Anaheim its first power play of the night.

The Rangers did a good job of killing the penalty, with Dylan Garand making some key saves to hold the Ducks off. As the teams returned to even strength once again, Marcus Pettersson and Alexis Lafrenière set up Mika Zibanejad off the rush, but Husso was able to shut him down.

Dorofeyev was undoubtedly one of the Rangers' most effective players through the opening period as he continued to get chance after chance but just couldn't buy one.

That would do it for the first as the Rangers took their 1-0 lead into the first intermission. Shots through 20 minutes were 13-12 in Anaheim's favor as both teams had more than 20 shot attempts. Justin Dowling, who is at risk of losing his current job as the fourth-line center, had just over a minute and a half of time on ice.

Second Period

Pettersson, who took a big hit from Malott late in the first period, was not on the bench to start the second for the Rangers. The good news for the Rangers was that he would miss only one shift. Soon after his return to the ice, the Rangers were sent back to the power play as rookie Nikita Klepov was called for tripping.

With Gabe Perreault out in Dorofeyev's place on the top unit, Fox let a shot go from the point that was redirected by J.T. Miller to make it a 2-0 game. An excellent deflection from the Rangers' captain.

Nearing the midway point of the outing, Perreault finished a beautiful passing play with his linemates. Lafrenière did a great job of keeping the puck in the offensive zone and found Zibanejad with a flithy backhand pass. Zibanejad fed the puck to Perreault on a silver platter, leaving him a wide-open net to tuck the puck into. 3-0 Rangers.

With eight minutes to go, Zibanejad took a hard stick to the face as Jensen followed through on a clearing attempt that he whiffed on significantly. Zibanejad was in some pain and had a nasty gash on his nose as a result, but because it was a follow-through, the double-minor high-sticking call was rescinded.

About a minute and a half later, the Rangers made it a 4-0 lead. A great forecheck from Dowling forced a turnover as Oliver Bjorkstrand read the play beautifully and picked up the puck. All alone on Husso, Bjorkstrand beat him with the shot for his third of the season.

With three minutes to go, Klepov took his second penalty of the night as he was called for holding. It wouldn't be a full advantage, as Eeli Tolvanen was sent off for tripping after a minute and a half of the Rangers struggling to generate offense on the power play. Garand, who wasn't tested a ton throughout the second, stood tall and helped the Rangers hold Anaheim off in the final minute of the period.

Shots were now 26-20 in the Rangers' favor as the Ducks were credited with just seven shots throughout the second period.

Third Period

With 30 seconds remaining on the penalty to Tolvanen, the Rangers continued to have success on the penalty kill. Not long after the teams were back to full strength, Bjorkstrand entered the zone right through the slot and beat Husso with another quick wrist shot, identical to his first goal. 5-0 Rangers.

The Rangers were playing with their food a bit as the period went on, as they did not hesitate to opt for the extra pass and ensure everyone on the ice was involved in the play in the offensive zone. Anaheim would get the chance to stop that with six minutes to go as Smits was called for his second penalty of the game, tripping Tim Washe on a break toward the Rangers' net.

A unique situation on the Ducks' power play saw Garand make a save with the net completely off its moorings. Somehow, none of the four officials on the ice noticed the net was off until the Ducks managed to get the puck to the net. Nevertheless, the Rangers killed off a third Anaheim advantage as they chewed time off, but they wouldn't come out of it unscathed.

Just 69 seconds away from a shutout, a one-timer from Jensen may have deflected off a skate but snuck through Garand. It would be an unlucky finish to the game as A.J. Greer snuck a shot from behind the goal line off the sticks of both Smits and Garand to find the back of the net. An ugly goal everyone involved will want to forget in what was an otherwise strong night for the Rangers' rookie goaltender.

That would do it for this one as the Rangers won 5-2 to keep their home win streak intact. The final shots-on-goal tally had both teams tied at 30 apiece. The Rangers will cross the border for the first time this season as they take on the Toronto Maple Leafs in an Original Six matchup Thursday night in Ontario.