Rangers vs. Ducks: Oliver Bjorkstrand Scores Twice as New York Stays Perfect at Home

The Anaheim Ducks spent roughly 15 hours getting to New York. It took the Rangers 78 seconds to make them wish the flight had been canceled outright.

Sean Durzi struck first, Oliver Bjorkstrand buried two, Dylan Garand made 29 saves and the New York Rangers beat the Ducks 5-2 at Madison Square Garden on Monday night. The win kept the Rangers perfect at home at 6-0-0, and the final score only got that close because Anaheim scored twice in the last 69 seconds.

The Garden Gets Loud Early, Again

Durzi set the tone at 1:18 of the first, sending a snap shot from the point through a crowd and past Ville Husso. Pavel Dorofeyev and Tye Kartye had the assists. It was the third straight home game in which the Rangers scored inside the first two minutes, something NHL.com said the franchise had done only once before, from March 15 to 22 in 1989. Somebody check whether the Garden's goal horn has a pregame warmup routine.

The opening goal mattered more than usual because of what Anaheim had just been through. The Ducks dealt with a plane maintenance delay that turned Sunday into a 15-hour travel day, did not reach their hotel until 2:30 a.m. Monday, and were back on the ice for their morning skate less than nine hours later, according to the AP. Durzi, who previously played in Los Angeles, Arizona and Utah, knew exactly how to treat a jet-lagged opponent.

"Knowing that now, being on this side, having that experience, starts are huge," he said.

The Rangers did not bury them right away. The first period ended 1-0, and for a while the Ducks hung around on fumes. Then the second period happened.

The Turning Point: Under Nine Minutes of Chaos

Nikita Klepov went to the box for tripping Gabe Perreault at 3:52 of the second, and New York needed just 46 seconds of the power play. Captain J.T. Miller parked himself in front and redirected an Adam Fox shot from the point at 4:38 for a 2-0 lead.

At 10:17, the Rangers produced the prettiest goal of the night. Durzi's forecheck pried the puck loose along the right wall, Alexis Lafrenière spun around Beckett Sennecke and fired a backhand feed across to Mika Zibanejad, and Zibanejad's one-touch feed found Perreault at the right post for a tap-in. Perreault's review of his own work was refreshingly honest.

"That was an easy one," he said.

Less than three minutes later, Sennecke tried a backhand pass into the middle of his own zone and Bjorkstrand picked it off, walked in alone and beat Husso at 13:14. In a span of 8:36, the Rangers went from a one-goal lead to a 4-0 rout, and the Ducks went from tired to toast.

Bjorkstrand's Quick Release

Oliver Bjorkstrand played only 12:08 and scored twice, adding a second goal at 3:26 of the third when he took a pass from Taylor Raddysh and slipped a snap shot through Husso's legs for a 5-0 lead. That gives him four goals on the season. Rangers coach Mike Sullivan was impressed by the finish more than the volume.

"He can really shoot it," Sullivan said. "He's got a great release."

Dylan Garand carried a shutout to the final two minutes and finished with 29 saves on 31 shots. He has taken over the crease since Igor Shesterkin went down with a season-ending lower-body injury on Oct. 9, per NHL.com, and this was his fifth consecutive start. Sullivan's expectation for him is simple. "He's given us a chance to win night in and night out, and that's what we're asking of him," he said.

Alexis Lafrenière had two assists, including the gorgeous setup on Perreault's goal, and he connected the dots on the home start. "Obviously, we struggled last year at home," he said. "It's good to have the start we're having this year. I think it helps us that the building is electric."

Sean Durzi finished plus-3 with a goal and four blocked shots, which is about as complete a night as a defenseman can have without making the highlight reel twice.

For Anaheim, defenseman Nick Jensen scored on a slap shot from the slot at 18:51 in his season debut, and A.J. Greer was credited with a goal that went in off Garand at 19:27. Husso made 25 saves in a game where his teammates gave him very little help.

Stats That Matter

• 6-0-0 at home: NHL.com said it is the Rangers' first six-game home winning streak to open a season since 1990-91, when they won their first eight at the Garden.
• Last season, the sixth home win did not arrive until Jan. 26, in the club's 23rd home game, according to the AP.
• Power play: New York went 1-for-4, Anaheim 0-for-3.
• Hits: Anaheim out-hit New York 29-15, which is what effort looks like when the legs are not there.
• Shots: Anaheim actually outshot New York 31-30. Garand made sure it did not matter.

What It Means

New York improves to 7-3-1 with 15 points, and the win snapped a two-game skid that included a 7-1 loss at New Jersey and a 1-0 loss at Columbus on Saturday. All three of the Rangers' regulation losses have come on the road, so the Garden is doing serious heavy lifting. According to the AP, this team lost 27 of 41 at home last season on the way to finishing last in the Eastern Conference. Whatever changed, the building noticed.

Sullivan sees something bigger forming. "I do think our guys have a pretty clear understanding of what winning hockey looks like for our team," he said.

Anaheim drops to 4-4-0 and has lost three straight after winning four of its first five, per NHL.com. Coach Joel Quenneville did not hide behind the travel. "I thought our top guys weren't very good tonight," he said. "You could name them all and you probably wouldn't be happy." He even called the 5-2 final "flattering." The Ducks get no rest either: Lukas Dostal is expected to start Tuesday at the Islanders, according to the AP.

Closing Take

The Ducks had every excuse in the book and their coach refused to use any of them. That is admirable. It is also beside the point when the opponent treats its home rink like a cheat code. Last season the Rangers could not win at the Garden to save their lives. This season they have turned it into the hockey version of a home-field advantage video game slider, cranked all the way up. Six games, six wins, and a goalie playing like the job was always his.

Stats from the official box score via ESPN. Postgame quotes and notes from NHL.com; additional reporting from the Associated Press.