NEW YORK — When Madison Square Garden roars, there isn’t a louder arena in the National Hockey League.
The Garden is what New York Rangers legend Brian Mullen told amNewYork in October: “The best place to play in the whole NHL.”
MSG, usually electric during the regular season, hasn’t been the fortress the Rangers have hoped it would be in their constant reiterations of the desire to make it a difficult place for their opponents — New York has stumbled out of the gate to a 3-8-1 record at home.
In many such losses, the Rangers have trailed late and given up a knife-twisting empty netter, negating the team’s comeback effort and questionable six-on-five play. But on Tuesday night, the Rangers were reminded, for what seems like the first time in forever, what the Garden could be.
“When MSG gets rocking, and you know they’re supporting us, it’s a great feeling, and it’s a great place to play,” Will Cuylle said.
Cuylle, of course, caused all of the ruckus late in regulation of the Rangers’ 3-2 overtime win over the Dallas Stars on Tuesday, as New York fired a season-high 41 shots on Stars goaltender Casey DeSmith. He picked up the rebound off an Artemi Panarin shot with just over two minutes to play, his team down by one. He spun toward DeSmith and flung it in.
The Garden popped. Cuylle pumped his fist and yelled. The Rangers, for the first time since March 2, 2024, had tied a game with less than three minutes left, according to Peter Baugh of The Athletic.
In overtime, it was Vladislav Gavrikov, similarly picking up the change off a Panarin rebound, who finished the job just over one minute in. It was Gavrikov’s fifth goal of the season and the fourth overtime winner of his career. He now has points in four of his last six games.
Gavrikov’s offensive numbers have been a surprise for Rangers head coach Mike Sullivan, who praised the defenseman’s defensive capabilities.
“I won’t lie, I’m surprised with how effective he’s been, just with his instincts,” Sullivan said. “In particular, the way he jumps off the offensive blue line. I think he’s done a really good job for us there. He’s created a lot just with how he’s active off the blue line. In particular, when he goes into the high slot, he creates that high slot tip, or he gets a rebound opportunity when he gets in that area, and it’s really good, the timing of when he jumps. I think that’s an instinct. It’s hard to teach that.”
Sullivan added that he’s confident in Gavrikov’s ability to step up, with star No. 1 defenseman Adam Fox placed on long-term injured reserve.
Despite Gavrikov’s welcome offensive contributions, the Rangers are faced with a massive hole on the top defensive pairing and the first power play unit — one that, despite Tuesday’s win, doesn’t bode well for a club that’s been teetering between the final Wild Card spot and the basement of a tight Eastern Conference.
New York plugged its top defensive pair opening with Braden Schneider. As for the power play, the top unit looked disjointed in its first couple of attempts Tuesday, but pressured Dallas on a four-minute attempt in the third period. Sullivan sent out five forwards — Panarin, Cuylle, Vincent Trocheck, J.T. Miller, and Mika Zibanejad — without a reliable puck-moving defenseman. Artemi Panarin manned the point.
It’s important to note that Tuesday’s win was the Rangers’ first full game running a five-forward power play. Sullivan felt that with more reps, the unit, particularly Panarin, would become more comfortable.
“That’s not an easy situation we’re putting him in,” Sullivan said about Panarin’s point position on the power play. “But we know he’s very capable. He has elite talent. He has elite vision. He has the ability to distribute pucks up there, and he’s very good at finding ways to get pucks through from up top, which is an important attribute when you play in that position.”
But most importantly for the Rangers was how they won. When Dallas took a 2-1 lead midway through the third period on a two-on-one that began with a J.T. Miller bobble, New York looked dead in the water. They were an empty-netter away from their ninth regulation loss at home.
“It’s always a confidence builder whenever you’re able to come back late,” Trocheck, who assisted on Cuylle’s goal, said. Getting one six-on-five is huge for our confidence. So it was nice for us to step up there last minute and get one to tie the game. Obviously, those extra points in overtime are huge late in the season, so important to get that.”
