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Rangers defenseman Will Borgen lands on score sheet at World Championship
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- Rangers defenseman Will Borgen lands on score sheet at World Championship
It wasn't an ideal start for the United States at the 2026 World Hockey Championship on Friday. But a current New York Rangers defenseman found his way on to the score sheet in a 3-1 loss to host Switzerland, as did one of his popular former teammates on Broadway.
Will Borgen and Ryan Lindgren each earned an assist on the only U.S. goal, scored by Alex Steeves at 8:45 of the third period. It was a big goal because it cut the deficit to 2-1, but Switzerland scored a clutch insurance goal with less than four minutes to play in regulation to finish off the U.S.
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Borgen zipped a pass along the blue line to Lindgren on his left. Lindgren's shiot was blocked, but the puck came to Steeves in the slot. The Boston Bruins forward fired wide of the net, but collected his own rebound off the back boards and roofed a shot high into the net.
It was a bit of revenge for the Swiss, who lost 1-0 in overtime to the United States in the championship game at the 2025 Worlds, when Buffalo Sabres forward Tage Thompson scored the Golden Goal.
Borgen logged 13:17 TOI, didn't record a shot on goal and was plus-1 in the opener Friday. Lindgren played 16:49, recorded one shot on goal, was plus-1, and took a cross-checking minor penalty in the third period.
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Another former Rangers player, forward Marek Hrivik , scored the game-winning goal for Slovakia in a 2-1 victory over Norway on Saturday. The 35-year-old netted the go-ahead goal 8:07 into the third, after Slovakia scored the game-opening goal in the first period, and Norway tied it in the second.
Hrivik played six seasons in the Rangers organization, mainly in the minor leagues with the AHL Connecticut Whale and Hartford Wolf Pack, from 2012-17. He had three assists in 21 games with the Rangers over two season, and also played three NHL games with the Calgary Flames .
Since 2018, Hrivik played in Europe, including the KHL and SHL. He also represented Slovakia at numerous international tournaments, and took part in the 2022 Beijing Olympics, when Slovakia won the bronze medal. Hrivik is Slovakia's captain at the 2026 Worlds.
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One of his teammates is energetic Rangers forward Adam Sykora , who logged 14:12 TOI playing on Slovakia's third line against Norway. The 21-year-old didn't record a shot on goal and was minus-1, his line was on ice for Norway's only goal.
Mikkel Eriksen, the Rangers' fourth-round selection in the 2025 NHL Draft, played in Norway's top-nine forward group and total 14:49 TOI on Saturday. The 18-year-old tied for second on Norway with three shots on goal, two coming in the final period.
Five players representing Rangers at 2026 World Championship
Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images
The Rangers have five players participating in the 2026 IIHF World Championship, representing five different countries. Along with Borgen, Sykora, and Eriksen, defenseman Urho Vaakanainen plays for Finland and forward Jaroslav Chmelar plays for Czechia.
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Vaakanainen was third among Finland defensemen with 17:29 TOI in their 3-1 win over Germany on Friday. He didn't land on the score sheet, and had one shot on goal, leaving it to Finland's star forwards, like Anton Lundell and Aleksander Barkov — who missed the entire 2025-26 NHL season with a knee injury — to carry the offensive load.
The 27-year-old did pick up the primary assist on Ville Heinola 's game-opening goal less than a minute into the second period of Finland's second game, on Saturday, against Hungary.
Chmelar played 10:56 in a fourth-line role for Czechia in their 4-1 victory over Denmark on Friday.
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