Special Rangers PK among key takeaways from 3-1 win over Blues to end skid

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Special Rangers PK among key takeaways from 3-1 win over Blues to end skid

Special Rangers PK among key takeaways from 3-1 win over Blues to end skid — IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Jim Cerny · Forever Blueshirts

Wed, November 4, 2026 at 4:16 AM UTC ·

6 min read

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In recent years past, the narrative of narrow New York Rangers victories often focused on how their power play was a clear difference maker. Well, Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden special teams was again a crucial factor in the Rangers' 3-1 win over the St. Louis Blues. But this time it was their penalty kill rising to the occasion to help them end a four-game losing streak.

The Rangers (8-6-1) were a perfect 6-for-6 on the PK, including several timely kills with the game hanging in the balance before the home team pulled away late in the third period. That this performance came against the League's 10th-ranked power play showcased even more the terrific job done by New York's penalty killers.

That shouldn't come as a surprise, though. The Rangers entered play Tuesday third in the NHL on the penalty kill (89.1 percent), having allowed just five power-play goals in 14 games. Including this game against the Blues, the Rangers have killed off 47 of 52 power plays against. That's impressive stuff.

So, it was again Tuesday. The Rangers were short-handed three times in the first period, but reached the first intermission in a scoreless tie. They finished off the remainder of J.T. Miller's high-sticking minor (taken at 19:06 of the first period) to begin the second period, and shortly thereafter Adam Fox scored the game's first goal. Clearly, the Rangers PK provided positive momentum, and the Rangers capitlaized to make it 1-0 at 1:49.

It was still a one-goal game when Noah Laba was assessed a slashing penalty at 18:18 of the second. The Rangers finished killing that one off to start the third period, and then killed off another minor to Mika Zibanejad at 4:42. Goalie Dylan Garand stopped a point-blank opportunity by former Rangers forward Pavel Buchnevich , but that was the only shot on goal recorded by the frustrated Blues during their fifth power play.

NHL: St. Louis Blues at New York Rangers — Nov 3, 2026; New York, New York, USA; St. Louis Blues left wing Pavel Buchnevich (89) takes a shot against Brad Penner-Imagn ImagesCredit: IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Rangers eventually got goals later in the period from Oliver Bjorkstrand and Eeli Tolvanen to take a 3-0 lead before the Blues scored with their goalie pulled and 58.8 seconds remaining in regulation.

Vladislav Gavrikov was an absolute horse on the PK, leading the way with 6:33 short-handed TOI. Braden Schneider (5:43) and Will Cuylle (5:20) also logged more than five minutes of PK ice time, and 12 different Blueshirts joined the party helping to kill off six St. Louis power plays.

On a night the Rangers did a lot of good things, their PK stood out at the top of that list. Which this season should come as no surprise.

Key takeaways after Rangers end skid with 3-1 win over Blues

Dylan Garand's bounce-back performance

Roughly 48 hours after he took on the blame for New York's 4-1 loss to the Edmonton Oilers on Sunday, Garand came within a minute of his second NHL shutout and was named the game's First Star on Tuesday. The 24-year-old rookie looked poised and confident, stood his ground and tracked the puck well all night, finishing with a season-high 32 saves against the Blues for his first win in two weeks.

It was a solid bounce-back outing for Garand, who allowed a goal 50 seconds into that game against the Oilers and three goals on nine shots to sink the Rangers into a 3-0 hole. Tuesday, he held down the fort with 10 saves in the first period and 11 more in the second, before stopping 11 of 12 shots in the third period.

"I think this game was an important one for him. He wanted to bounce back and have a solid night for the group, and he did," coach Mike Sullivan stated postgame .

It was his 11th straight appearance (nine starts, two in relief), and of his best of the season, coming at a time when some were beginning to question his ability to carry the load in goal until Joonas Korpisalo returns from injury to, at least, share the net with him.

Dylan Garand made 32 saves in his 11th straight appearance to secure the win in front of The Garden Faithful. @michellegingras | @NYRangers | #NYR pic.twitter.com/cMfdoxgU3K

— Rangers on MSG (@RangersMSGN) November 4, 2026

PP2 earns bigger role

The other half of New York's special teams wasn't so bad either Tuesday. True, the Rangers were 0-for-3 on the power play, and failed for the fourth time in five games to net one on the man advantage. But they did register 11 shots on goal during six minutes of power-play time. And they received a big boost from their second unit.

After a bit of shuffling personnel on PP1 and PP2, it was the second unit that kept it simple and generated the better scoring chances. Tye Kartye was a demon hunting pucks and working his way into the slot for a pair of prime power-play chances. Bjorkstrand, Miller, and Cuylle were solid as well on PP2. And Fox quarterbacked both units with Sean Durzi out injured again. Fox logged 5:26 of power-play TOI.

So effective was the second unit that Sullivan chose to start them late in the second period, even after a TV timeout allowed for his top unit to be fully rested.

Bottom six changes pay off

A big storyline going into this game was that Cuylle moved to center on the third line, a position he's never played at any level. Sullivan wanted more offense from his bottom-six, so Laba moved down to the fourth line, and Cuylle centered Bjorkstrand and Tolvanen.

Well, after an uneven start, Cuylle and the third line came through midway through the third period. With the score 1-0, Cuylle stole the puck at the offensive blue line, triggering a pretty passing play with Tolvanen that resulted in Bjorkstrand's sixth goal of the season, this one into a wide-open net.

A gorgeous bang bang pass play and Oliver Bjorkstrand lights the lamp! @kennyalbert | @DaveMaloneyMSG | #NYR pic.twitter.com/jvklv11fng

— Rangers on MSG (@RangersMSGN) November 4, 2026

Tolvanen iced the victory with his fourth goal, and third into an empty net.

The fourth line didn;t score, but Laba, Jaroslav Chmelar , and Matt Rempe consistently got in on the forecheck and generated a 5-4 advantage in scoring chances 5v5, including 2-1 in the high-danger variety, per Natural Stat Trick .

Rempe tied Schneider for the team lead with five hits; Chmelar had two shots on goal and four shot attempts; and Laba was credited with three hits.

All in all, a strong night from the bottom-six forwards.

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