Rangers vs. Islanders: Alexis Lafrenière's Hat Trick Powers New York to a Fourth Straight Win

Alexis Lafrenière's hat trick will not make anybody's list of the prettiest ever scored at Madison Square Garden. Two of the three went into an empty net in the final 1:38. Nobody in the building was asking for a refund.

Lafrenière scored three times and added an assist, Oliver Bjorkstrand scored twice, including the go-ahead power-play goal late in the second period, and the New York Rangers beat the crosstown New York Islanders 5-2 on Tuesday night for their fourth straight win. Per NHL.com, it is the first time since 2009-10 that the Rangers have opened 3-0-0 on Garden ice.

Bjorkstrand Makes His First Shot Count

The Rangers went 6:40 without a shot on goal. Then they finally took one, and it went in. Lafrenière stripped Matthew Schaefer along the end boards with a heavy forecheck and moved the puck into the right circle, where Bjorkstrand teed up a slap shot that beat Semyon Varlamov over the left shoulder. It was Bjorkstrand's first goal as a Ranger.

Varlamov was the other headline before the puck even dropped. His last NHL appearance had come on Nov. 29, 2024, which made this return 676 days in the making after surgeries on both knees, per the AP. He admitted the night carried some weight. "I had a great experience today playing the game again at NHL level," Varlamov said. "I was having a lot of fun out there. A little bit emotional in the beginning, especially during the warmup."

The rivalry delivered its usual edge, too. Brayden Schenn and J.T. Miller dropped the gloves at 12:13 of the first.

Laffy Takes Off

Lafrenière doubled the lead just 25 seconds into the second. Mika Zibanejad, down on his knees in his own zone, somehow flung a stretch pass up to him in the neutral zone, and Lafrenière carried into the left circle and beat Varlamov to the far side for his first goal of the season.

"Just trying to get it to 'Laffy,'" Zibanejad said. "I saw 'Laffy' take off. Just happy I didn't turn it over."

The Islanders Punch Back

Then the Islanders remembered it was a rivalry game. Eeli Tolvanen went off for hooking at 2:02, and captain Bo Horvat one-timed a Matias Maccelli pass from the left circle past Igor Shesterkin at 2:56 for his second goal of the season. At 4:52, Calum Ritchie tied it 2-2, with Schenn collecting his second assist of the night.

Islanders coach Peter DeBoer felt his team had a real window. "We had a chance to take the lead; that maybe changes the game," he said, pointing to at least two good looks at 2-2.

The Turning Point

Instead, the Rangers got the next one, and it came on the power play. With Schenn in the box for holding, Varlamov stopped a Will Cuylle tip in front, Gabe Perreault retrieved the loose puck on the right-wing half-wall and whipped a pass across the slot, and Bjorkstrand snapped a short-side wrist shot from the left circle at 17:07 of the second. That one stood as the winner.

Zibanejad saw growth in how the Rangers absorbed the Islanders' push. "I felt like we didn't just collapse like we've maybe done in the past," he said.

The Empty-Net Encore

The Rangers protected the lead through a scoreless stretch, and Lafrenière cashed in once the Islanders pulled Varlamov. He scored into the empty net at 18:22 of the third and again at 18:54, 32 seconds apart, to finish the hat trick. Coach Mike Sullivan explained why Lafrenière is on the ice in those moments. "We're using him 5-on-6; that's a responsibility, that's a privilege, but we think he's a guy that's very capable there," Sullivan said. "So we're challenging him to bring a defensive conscience in those situations and he gets rewarded with empty-net opportunities."

The rivalry got one more scrap in before the horn, as Bjorkstrand and Adam Pelech were assessed fighting majors at 19:47.

Who Delivered

Alexis Lafrenière: Three goals, an assist and a plus-4 in 18:54. His first three goals of the season arrived all at once.

Oliver Bjorkstrand: Two goals, including the winner, in just 8:58 of ice time. That is maximum return on minimal minutes.

Mika Zibanejad: Two assists, including the stretch pass from his knees, and a plus-3.

Vladislav Gavrikov: Two assists and a plus-3 in 24:10 on the blue line.

Igor Shesterkin: 17 saves on 19 shots. His two-game point streak, which included a goal last Thursday when he became the first Rangers goalie to score, ended, per the AP.

Semyon Varlamov: 19 saves on 22 shots in his long-awaited return.

Stats That Matter

• 3-0-0: The Rangers at home. Last season, per NHL.com, the Garden was a house of horrors: seven straight home losses to open the year and no third home win until Dec. 2.
• 0: First-period goals allowed by the Rangers this season, per NHL.com.
• 7-1: The Rangers' third-period scoring margin during the four-game winning streak, per NHL.com.
• 12: Shot attempts for Schaefer, the reigning rookie of the year, who hit the post twice, per the AP.
• 24-19: The Rangers' edge in shots on goal.

What It Means

The Rangers are 4-1-0 and have not lost since getting shut out 3-0 in Boston on opening night. Lafrenière put the vibe simply. "I feel like we're playing winning hockey, especially with the lead, and it helps us a lot," he said. They visit Washington on Friday.

The Islanders fall to 1-2-0 and 0-2-0 on the road. The bright side is that Varlamov is back in the crease after nearly two years away. They host Chicago on Thursday.

There was also a small piece of rivalry history, according to NHL.com: for the first time in the Rangers-Islanders rivalry, both teams dressed a teenage defenseman. At 18 years, 308 days, Alberts Smits of the Rangers is the youngest defenseman in the league, with Schaefer (19 years, 31 days) right behind him.

Closing Take

A hat trick with two empty-netters is the hockey version of a director's cut: same movie, bonus footage. Nobody complains when the main feature is this good. The Rangers keep winning the third period and keep getting timely goals from new faces, and the Islanders keep finding themselves in catch-up mode. DeBoer named the problem. "It's not easy in this league playing from behind," he said. Right now, the Rangers are making sure everyone is.

Stats from the official box score via ESPN. Game details from the Associated Press; postgame quotes and notes as reported by NHL.com.