Rangers Recap: Kartye, Cuylle Pace Rangers Past Canucks, 6-2

In their first game following the devastating end to Igor Shesterkin's season, the New York Rangers played host to the Vancouver Canucks. While it wasn't a big test opponent-wise, it was an important one in terms of overcoming adversity. With all eyes on rookie goaltender Dylan Garand, the Rangers looked to bounce back from their loss in Washington Friday night.

Aside from the change in goaltending, the majority of the Rangers lineup remained the same. The only other swap came in the top six as Pavel Dorofeyev moved up to the line with Gabe Perreault and Mika Zibanejad, leaving Alexis Lafrenière on the line with J.T. Miller and Tye Kartye.

First Period

Given the circumstances, it was imperative that the Rangers got off to a strong start. You couldn't ask for a better one here as just 27 seconds in, Miller led a 2-on-1 rush and Kartye was right there to put the rebound home, giving the Blueshirts a 1-0 lead early.

From that moment on, there wouldn't be another whistle for 10 minutes of play. Throughout that stretch, the Rangers were absolutely dominating possession, dictating play in Vancouver's end of the ice. Alberts Smits came close to his first goal on a shot that went just wide, Oliver Bjorkstrand came close on a bouncing puck in the slot, and Miller had a great chance but opted for the pass.

It was a fast-moving period with limited stoppages, but the Rangers were in the driver's seat. With five minutes to go, Vancouver got its first real chance to get involved as Zibanejad was called for a flimsy interference penalty. The Rangers were able to kill it off with relative ease, but it wouldn't be smooth sailing into intermission.

With just under three minutes to go, the puck came out from a battle behind the net and a quick shot from Jake DeBrusk caught Garand off guard, tying the game 1-1.

Late goal against aside, it was a good opening period for the Rangers. They completely dominated the first 15 minutes of play, as they should against a team like Vancouver. It was a weak penalty that altered the pace and a tough goal against Garand to end an otherwise strong period from the rookie netminder. Shots were 7-5 Rangers after the opening 20.

Second Period

It wouldn't be as quick a start to the second, but it was another strong one for the Rangers. After a couple of early whistles, Will Cuylle entered the zone and let a simple and effective shot go to find the net and regain the lead. 2-1 Rangers.

The Rangers continued to push, and that third line of Cuylle, Noah Laba, and Eeli Tolvanen was one of their most notable trios and at the forefront of the attack. Tolvanen nearly made it a 3-1 game when he hit the post with a point-blank shot in the slot.

After the midway point, the Canucks finally spent an extended shift in the Rangers' end of the ice. Garand was tested a bit during this stretch and came up with a couple of important saves to help the Rangers hold onto their lead.

It wasn't long before the Rangers were back in control as Adam Fox hit a post, almost set up another high-danger chance with traffic in front of the net, and Bjorkstrand saw a chance from up close. With about four and a half minutes to go, the Canucks took their first penalty of the night as Guillaume Brisebois was called for holding.

The infraction would do more harm than good for the Rangers as the power-play guys got caught too deep on a long shift. An odd-man rush for the Canucks resulted in a shot from Elias Pettersson (the defenseman) to beat Garand, tying the game at two apiece.

It wasn't long before the Rangers were ahead again as a nice feed from Miller found Kartye breaking toward the net. A perfect wrist shot went off the crossbar and in to regain the lead, 3-2 Rangers.

With 42 seconds to go, the Rangers went back to the power play as Marcus Pettersson was tripped up in the defensive zone by Brock Boeser. There wasn't enough time to accomplish much, and the Rangers took the advantage and a 3-2 lead into the second intermission. Shots were 17-15 in Vancouver's favor through two periods of play.

Third Period

An interesting note to kick off the third: Perreault took over for Dorofeyev on the top power-play unit. It seemingly paid off as he connected with Lafrenière in the slot to find the back of the net. The officials quickly reviewed the play because Miller was tripped by Kevin Lankinen's pad ahead of the play, but it wasn't enough to be considered goaltender interference. 4-2 on a power-play goal for the Rangers.

It wasn't long before the Rangers added to their lead. Zibanejad found Fox up high from behind Vancouver's net, and Fox delivered a perfect shot-pass for Perreault to guide home, making it a 5-2 game.

There was still plenty of time to go in the period, but the game sort of felt like it had been decided in that moment. The Rangers continued to dominate possession, and with four and a half minutes to go, Cuylle picked up his second of the night on a rebound that followed a shot from Tolvanen. 6-2 game.

That would do it for this one as the Rangers ended the night ahead in the shots-on-goal count 25-21. It was a great team effort and a strong first game for Garand as the new official starting goaltender. They'll be right back at it on home ice Tuesday night for a rematch with the Tampa Bay Lightning.