Rangers 5, Ducks 2: Three second-period goals put New York in command

Three second-period goals turned a narrow Rangers lead into a game New York could manage. The Rangers beat Anaheim 5-2 Monday at Madison Square Garden, with Oliver Bjorkstrand scoring twice and Dylan Garand making 29 saves on 31 shots.

Sean Durzi opened the scoring at 1:18 of the first period. Pavel Dorofeyev and Tye Kartye assisted, and that 1-0 advantage held through the first intermission. The early goal mattered because New York never had to chase the game.

Three goals in the middle period

J.T. Miller made it 2-0 on the power play at 4:38 of the second, with assists from Adam Fox and Alexis Lafrenière. Gabe Perreault followed at 10:17, assisted by Mika Zibanejad and Lafrenière. Bjorkstrand's unassisted goal at 13:14 completed the three-goal period and gave the Rangers a 4-0 lead.

The three goals arrived over an 8:36 span. Miller's power-play finish created the first two-goal cushion, and the two even-strength goals widened it. That is a more useful account of the separation than treating all five New York goals as interchangeable.

Bjorkstrand scored again at 3:26 of the third period, with Taylor Raddysh and Braden Schneider assisting. His second goal made it 5-0. Lafrenière finished with two assists, while the scoring came from four different Rangers.

A large lead, without a shutout

Garand was the confirmed starter and played all 60 minutes. The official box score credits him with saves on all six Anaheim power-play shots he faced. New York's final advantage was substantial even though Anaheim finished with a 31-30 edge in shots.

The Ducks finally scored at 18:51 of the third through Nick Jensen, then added A.J. Greer's goal at 19:27. Both came in the final 69 seconds. They ended Garand's shutout bid and changed the final margin, but they did not turn the closing stretch into a one-goal contest.

The late goals are a reason to separate a strong result from a perfect finish. New York built its cushion through a productive second period and a clean first 58 minutes on the scoreboard. Anaheim's two late goals belong in the account, alongside the three-goal stretch that had already decided the direction of the night.