The New York Rangers (5-0-1) remain undefeated in regulation as they chased the Montreal Canadiens (2-4-1) out of their own building. In a 7-2 final, New York became the fourth team since 1990-91 to score at least four goals in each of their first six contests—they’re cruising.
The Rangers got off to a hot start with a Mika Zibanejad tally less than a minute into the game. Both Adam Fox and Artemi Panarin notched their seventh assists of the season.
Shortly after, Jonny Brodzinski scored his first goal of the season. With assists from Adam Edstrom and Braden Schneider, the Rangers’ depth getting on the board is a good sign for them. Their stars have mostly led them in 2024-25, as Panarin was the league’s top point-scorer prior to this contest.
New York added to their first-period dominance with a Reilly Smith goal. His second as a member of the Rangers, he’s certainly enjoying his new home—he was a trade addition in the 2024 offseason.
Making it an early blowout was Filip Chytil, whose power-play marker made it 4-0 for the Rangers just 11:05 into the game. Smith and Kaapo Kakko got the assists.
Keep on working. pic.twitter.com/78mcBhokkw
— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) October 22, 2024
Montreal’s Nick Suzuki answered the call to make it 4-1 for his first of the new campaign. Josh Anderson and David Savard’s assists helped Suzuki get the monkey off of his back.
In the second period, Suzuki made it back-to-back tallies, with this one being on the power play. Mike Matheson got his fifth assist of the season while Kirby Dach got his second.
From there, the Canadiens were held scoreless. Schneider got on the board with assists from Chytil and Kakko; their second points of the night.
Chytil stayed hot with a power-play marker with under five minutes left in the game. Will Cuyle and Sam Carrick put up the helpers.
For the first time this season, Kakko scored a goal to make it 7-2. It was a three-point night for both him and Chytil, but the former answered the call especially—he’s on a one-year “prove-it” deal. The assists came from Cuylle and Victor Mancini.
Related: New York Rangers Re-Sign Kaapo Kakko to 1-Year Contract
Between the pipes, Igor Shesterkin had a solid outing with 21 saves on 23 shots. At the other end, it was a battle for Samuel Montembeault who could only turn aside six of the 10 shots he saw. In relief, Cayden Primeau had an impressive 31 saves on 34 shots. The two goals he sacrificed in the final five minutes didn’t help his numbers, but they were still good overall.
Next up, the Rangers return to their home ice against the Florida Panthers on Oct. 24. An Eastern Conference Final rematch, that’s one New York will want to get two points from. As for the Canadiens, they won’t be back until Oct. 26 versus the St. Louis Blues at the Bell Centre. Losers in their last four games now, Montreal will want to stop the bleeding as soon as possible.
