Recap: Chmelar Nets First in Rangers 6-2 Win Over Toronto

‘Twas the night before the trade deadline and all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even Tyler Motte. It’s been an eventful day around the NHL and if you’ve missed all the news, we got you covered here as Blueshirt Banter is going to be tracking all the trades and other bits of news leading up to the 2026 trade deadline. 

While Mike Sullivan had joked that the entire team was going to be a game-time decision due to the nature of the trade deadline, it turned out that Vincent Trocheck and Sam Carrick would indeed be held out for roster management purposes. That—mixed with the J.T. Miller injury—left plenty of holes in the Rangers lineup, making for an interesting look for the Rangers as they hosted the Toronto Maple Leafs. 

Business aside, Rangers fans were in for another Centennial Celebration as the Rangers paid tribute to modern legends. The ceremony honored Tom Renney, Glen Sather, Colton Orr, Steve Valiquette, Derek Dorsett, Darius Kasparaitis, Michael Del Zotto, Dominic Moore, Kevin Klein, Brian Boyle, Brandon Prust, Sean Avery, Brandon Dubinsky, Carl Hagelin, Marc Staal, Marian Gaborik, and Henrik Lundqvist.

Jaromir Jagr joined with a video message

First Period

Well, it only took 13 seconds. William Nylander skated around the back of the net, found an undisturbed Matias Maccelli at the doorstep to make it a 1-0 game. 

Shortly afterwards, Maccielli would head to the penalty box as he was called for slashing Will Borgen, giving the Rangers an early power play. The top unit couldn't get anything done and the second was made up of Jonny Brodzinski, Taylor Raddysh and Conor Sheary so, not a ton to expect offensively. 

However, about four minutes after returning to even strength, a shot from Braden Schneider at the point took a redirect off the stick of Will Cuylle in front of Toronto’s net to tie the game up 1-1. Good shot and an even better tip from Cuylle.

The rest of the period was... a hockey game. On the bright side, Gabe Perreault and Alexis Lafrenière were looking good together on the top line with Mika Zibanejad. On the other hand, there really wasn't anything else to write home about. The Leafs got their first power play with five minutes to go as Jusso Parssinen was called for hooking but the Rangers penalty killers got the job done. Shots after the opening twenty were 10-4 in Toronto's favor with the score tied 1-1.

Second Period

The Rangers were quickly falling behind the play early in the second and just about five minutes in, it was the 20-year-old Easton Cowan regaining the lead for his team. A long shift for the Rangers resulted in a rush chance for Toronto and Shesterkin had some trouble with the wrist shot from Cowan. It may have gotten a piece of Schneider's stick or just hit the blocker awkwardly but either way, it's one Shesterkin will surely want back.

Soon after, Vinny Iorio did.great job of weaving through the slot to bring the puck to the net but along the way, he was taken down by Morgan Rielly. That sent Rielly off for hooking and gave the Rangers their second man advantage of the evening. Against all odds, that second power play unit of mainly defensively responsible players would find a way to convert. A quick shot from Raddysh set up a rebound for Vladislav Gavrikov to tie the game back up 2-2.

It was more of the same for the majority of the period but the Leafs absolutely dominated the Rangers in the final three minutes of the period, keeping the Rangers third line out there for over three minutes. The long change certainly didn't do them any favors but the Leafs were peppering the Rangers with shots, leading 22-13 after two periods of play.

Third Period

The Rangers were doing a better job of maintaining possession and generating offense early in the third and those efforts paid off. About five minutes in, a shot from Mika Zibanejad from the point tipped off of Lafrenière's stick in front to regain the lead, 3-2.

Nearing the midway point of the period, in just his seventh NHL game Jaroslav Chmelar picked up the puck in the neutral zone and ended up on a breakaway. A nice backhand-forehand moved set up a quick shot for the Rangers rookie that snuck through Joseph Woll for his first career NHL goal. 4-2 Rangers and probably the loudest I've heard the crowd at MSG cheer in quite a while.

Less than a minute later, a nice pass from Lafrenière found Mika Zibanejad for a one timer to make it a 5-2 game. That goal came as Zibanejad's 25th of the season.

The Leafs best chance of the period came with about six minutes to go as Matthew Knies was shut down by Shesterkin on a partial breakaway. The following shift, the Leafs pulled Woll for the extra attacker with lots of time left. Will Cuylle would pick up his second of the night with just under three minutes to go, sealing the deal 6-2.

A fun win and the Rangers first regulation one on home ice in over 100 days. Yes, unfortunately you read that right. The Rangers are back at it with another matinee this weekend as they'll take on the New Jersey Devils over in Newark Saturday at 3 p.m. Until then, all eyes will be on tomorrow afternoon's trade deadline. Continue to check in on our trade deadline tracker to stay up to date on all the latest.

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