Recap: Perreault, Lafrenière Lead Rangers Past Jets 6-3 in Winnipeg

After cruising to lopsided wins in the last two games, the New York Rangers are visiting Manitoba to take on the Winnipeg Jets. The Jets had a poor start to their season. It certainly didn't help that their gold medalist starting goalie was out close to two months to recover from knee surgery, but since the calendar flipped into 2026, the Jets have become a new team and are now back in the fight for a wild-card berth into the postseason.

The Rangers were led out by Igor Shesterkin, who was donning an all-white mask, which became a talking point for most of the game. Both Kenny Albert and Dave Maloney speculated about whether Shesterkin was making a statement with his mask, as neither could recall the last time a goalie dramatically switched to one mid-season.

The lines in the Rangers' warm-up closely resembled their earlier practice, with the highlight being Adam Edstrom's inclusion on the second line. Earlier in the day, the folks at Blueshirt Banter assumed that it was only a placeholder for Miller and that in the actual game, he would shift down to be replaced by another winger. However, we were all wrong; Sullivan clearly wants to see Edstrom get a chance to skate up in the lineup with his long reach and decent puck skills for a big man. Placing him on a line with Will Cuylle could lead to additional offense.

First Period

In what felt very unlike the New York Rangers, the game started with a bang. Gabriel Vilardi was sent to the box for hooking Winnipeg native Braden Schneider, giving the Rangers their first power play less than a minute into the game. During the face-off that followed, the Jets couldn't clear the puck, and Adam Fox sent a blistering shot on net through traffic from the point that sailed past Hellebuyck into the net for the first goal. It was unclear if Trocheck touched the puck, but the goal was officially credited to Fox.

The Jets wouldn't let the Rangers' fast start throw them off their game, however. Right after the Rangers scored their power-play goal, Jonathan Toews was sprung for a breakaway, but Shesterkin, coming out of the crease to challenge the shooter aggressively, made an easy stop. The Jets kept moving the puck well and kept it in deep against the Rangers, regardless of which line they were matched up against.

The ice would remain tilted in the Jets' favor, but due to great individual efforts, the Rangers rose to the occasion to shut them down. Gabe Perreault, about to get off the ice, saw an odd man rush developing and instead skated hard to backcheck and deflect a cross ice pass on a two-on-one, turning a dangerous scoring chance for the Jets into nothing. Just a minute earlier, he used his stickhandling and crafty passing ability to set up Lafrenière, who was very close to giving the Rangers a two-goal lead. This kid keeps proving he's the real deal.

Shortly after the halfway mark in the period, Vladislav Gavrikov went to the penalty box after trying to be subtle about getting in the way of Cole Koepke, but was called for interference, giving the Jets their own power-play opportunity. As is often the case, Shesterkin was the primary reason the Rangers kept the lead. Mark Scheifele and Cole Perfetti teamed up, forcing Shesterkin to make a diving save, but the Jets forwards went a little too far in attacking the puck, leading to a scrap behind the net as the Rangers came to their goalie’s defense. The replay showed it all again, but this time captured Shesterkin giving Jets players light taps with his glove as the puck cycled around before the scrum.

Perreault wasn't the only player backchecking and playing defense; late in the period, his linemate, Mika Zibanejad, was doing his part as well. The Jets were often trying to quickly set up in the Rangers' zone after entering, and Zibanejad played his position perfectly, grabbing the slot and blocking the lane Kyle Connor was looking for, Zibanejad was able to intercept the pass and clear the zone.

Second Period

This time, it was the Jets who started the period with a goal. In what seemed like an innocent play, the Jets cycled the puck around the Rangers' zone, and defenseman Jacob Bryson threw the puck at the net. Newly acquired Isak Rosen, positioned high in the slot, batted the puck down as it passed him, and it ricocheted off the ice and past Shesterkin, who was dangerously close to being interfered with by Jonathan Toews.

The game would only stay tied for five minutes, and it would be the Rangers' number one overall goofball who would continue his scoring streak. In the Jets' zone, Lafrenière grabbed the puck on the boards and, as we have often seen recently, held onto the puck instead of deferring to another player. He deftly stickhandled up and down the boards, eventually dropping it off to Perreault, then skated toward the net. Perreault slid the puck back to Will Borgen, who wristed a shot on net, and a crossing Lafrenière synced up perfectly with the play, able to deflect the puck past Hellebuyck to regain the lead for the Blueshirts.

After Jaroslav Chmelar's persistence drew a high-sticking penalty, the Rangers once again went on the power play. However, the two best scoring chances on the man advantage went to the penalized team. Following a disjointed play and a bad bounce, Adam Fox was unable to keep the puck in the Jets' zone. Morgan Barron and Cole Koepke were off to the races, but multiple Rangers hustled back to force the players wide and turned what could have been a dangerous breakaway or a two-on-zero into a harmless chip deflection for Shesterkin. Barron got another chance but was again pushed wide, though the former Ranger was doing an admirable job on the penalty kill for the Jets.

As the period wound down, Winnipeg star Kyle Connor tied the game in what is a contender for goal of the year. Skating toward the net, he pulled a slick move and tucked the puck through Adam Fox's legs and finagled it forward. He then approached Shesterkin, slowed down, deked, and pulled up, causing Shesterkin to bite, before lifting it over the Rangers' goalie into the net to tie the game.

Third Period

Though the game was tied and the Rangers' defensive effort was solid, Winnipeg was consistently outplaying New York. Thirty seconds into the final period, Zibanejad, unable to handle a pass at the Jets' blue line, had his pocket picked by Mark Scheifele, who showed off his strength and speed. He was able to keep his pace and stay in front of Zibanejad, who was hustling back hard. Scheifele made a subtle move, shifted to the outside, and rang the puck off the post. He was inches away from his 31st goal of the season and giving the Jets their first lead of the game.

Immediately afterward, Conor Sheary lined up against Jonathan Toews at the face-off circle in the Winnipeg zone. Sheary cleanly beat Toews, who was renowned for his face-off ability. Schneider shifted the puck across the blue line to Matthew Robertson, who wasted no time shooting it. Recent waiver claim Tye Kartye got free and skated toward the net. Robertson's shot/pass was cleanly deflected up and over Hellebuyck, giving the Rangers their third lead of the game. This was the second deflection goal and the third goal on thirteen shots for the Rangers.

Winnipeg stayed calm and stuck to their game plan. Just a few minutes later, they broke into the Rangers' zone, crisscrossing the puck. Adam Lowry received a pass near the hash marks and ripped a sneaky shot on net, leading to a bigger-than-usual rebound. Vilardi, who was closest to the puck, deked and tucked the puck around a sprawling Shesterkin to once again tie the game for the Jets.

The Blueshirts, refusing to accept defeat, kept fighting, and it just so happened that their new top line was the one to regain the lead. The play started in the Rangers' zone with Perreault putting the puck in front of a charging Zibanejad. As they entered the neutral zone, Dylan DeMelo unexpectedly lost an edge and fell to the ice, clearing the path for the Rangers' forwards. Zibanejad passed the puck to Lafrenière as they entered the Jets' zone. Lafrenière tried to pass it back to Zibanejad, but it didn't quite make it, so he followed up and passed it to Schneider. Schneider shot the puck toward the net, and Perreault was there to tap it past Hellebuyck, giving the Rangers the lead once again.

Minutes later, the back-and-forth scoring cycle was broken. Adam Edstrom, like a giant bull in a tiny china shop, forced his way through the Jets' zone and beat Hellebuyck. Skating behind the net, he powered through 6'4 Haydn Fleury and chased down the puck. He dropped it off and cycled with the rest of his line, then cut toward the center of the ice. Sheary and Trocheck exchanged the puck, with Trocheck hitting Edstrom in the slot, who then shot through Hellebuyck's five-hole to give the Rangers a two-goal lead.

The Jets would not go quietly into the night, but now down two goals, panic was starting to set in. The Rangers are all but eliminated from the playoffs at this point in the season; these games are fun, but in reality, they hurt the team's chances of acquiring an elite-level prospect to speed up their "retool." For Winnipeg, every game matters. They are five points behind in the wild-card race, and a game against a basement-dwelling Rangers squad was supposed to be an easy win. Although outplaying the Rangers for large stretches of the night, they were having a harder time beating Shesterkin, and that was evident late in the third when Josh Morrissey rang another shot off the post.

With almost three minutes remaining, the Jets pulled Hellebuyck and controlled the play for a while. After several face-off wins and scoring chances, Kartye dove to knock the puck out of the Rangers' zone. Noah Laba then powered through the Jets' defense, made a slick move around Morrissey, and put the puck into an empty net to seal the win for the Rangers.