Gabe Perreault sparks third-period surge as Rangers beat Utah 4-2

The tie held until the Rangers found another gear

For much of the night, this looked like a game that might turn on a single mistake. New York opened the scoring late in the first period when Vladislav Gavrikov beat Karel Vejmelka with a wrist shot at 17:18, with Adam Fox collecting the assist. Utah answered in the second at 14:29, Nick Schmaltz finishing a backhand chance off Clayton Keller’s setup to make it 1-1 and erase the Rangers’ first lead.

The game changed quickly once the third period began. Gabe Perreault restored New York’s advantage at 3:15 with a wrist shot, assisted by Alexis Lafreniere and Mika Zibanejad. That goal stood as the winner, but the Rangers did not stop there. J.T. Miller pushed the lead to 3-1 at 12:47 with a deflected goal created by Gavrikov and Tye Kartye, giving New York needed breathing room in a game that had stayed tight for more than 40 minutes.

Utah still had one more push. Andrew Peeke scored at 14:57, with Anders Lee recording the assist, trimming the margin back to one and forcing the Rangers to navigate a tense finish. Eeli Tolvanen settled it at 18:45 with a wrist shot assisted by Will Cuylle and Shesterkin, capping a third period in which New York finally separated itself on the scoreboard.

Shesterkin answers Utah’s pressure

The final totals tell an important part of this result. Utah finished with a 30-22 edge in shots and also led 29-23 in hits, yet New York still left with a two-goal win. Shesterkin was the central reason. He stopped 28 of 30 shots for a .933 save percentage, and that steadiness mattered on a night when the Rangers did not control shot volume.

New York also helped its goaltender by getting in the way of pucks. The Rangers recorded 23 blocked shots to Utah’s 17, a significant number in a game decided by narrow margins until the last few minutes. Gavrikov had four blocks from the blue line, Adam Fox added two, and the defensive group as a whole left a heavy imprint on the win. Utah had its own strong work in that area, led by MacKenzie Weegar’s five blocks and Mikhail Sergachev’s three, but New York’s combination of shot blocking and goaltending proved more decisive.

There were imperfections on both sides. Utah converted one of its two power-play chances, while the Rangers went 0-for-4 with the extra skater. New York did, however, win 54.2 per cent of the faceoffs, and those extra possessions helped offset 18 giveaways that otherwise could have become more damaging. Utah was cleaner in that category with 13 giveaways, but it could not turn the territorial edge into enough finishing.

Blue-line help and balanced scoring

The Rangers did not need one player to carry the entire attack. Gavrikov set the tone with the opening goal and later assisted on Miller’s third-period marker, giving him a two-point night from defence. Fox added another assist and finished plus-3, while Shesterkin even joined the scoresheet with the secondary assist on Tolvanen’s late goal. When a team gets contributions from both the crease and the back end, it usually means the game was managed well in the critical moments.

Up front, Perreault’s third-period finish changed the mood of the evening. Miller’s goal gave New York separation, and Tolvanen’s late strike removed the doubt. Lafreniere, Zibanejad, Kartye and Cuylle all chipped in assists, which underlined how spread out the Rangers’ offence was even on a night when the power play came up empty.

Utah had enough individual contributions to stay dangerous. Schmaltz scored his fourth of the season, Keller added an assist, and Peeke’s third-period goal gave the visitors a legitimate route back into the game. The Mammoth also got a physical effort from Lawson Crouse, who registered five shots and four hits, and strong ice time from Sergachev, who logged 23:51. The problem was not a lack of activity; it was that New York made more of its best moments.

Our take

This was a useful reminder that raw shot totals do not settle an NHL game by themselves. Utah generated more shots, delivered more hits and was better on the power play, but New York was sharper when the score was there to be claimed. The Rangers got timely scoring, strong goaltending and enough defensive resistance to survive the stretches when Utah carried the greater volume.

If there is a concern in a Rangers win, it is the 0-for-4 power play and the 18 giveaways. Those numbers leave room for opponents to punish them on another night. For Utah, the encouraging parts are obvious: 30 shots, a 50 per cent power play and a competitive game deep into the third. The next step, based on this result alone, is turning that work into cleaner third-period protection. Once Perreault broke the tie, the Mammoth were chasing the game, and New York’s finishers were better equipped to close it.

Scoring moments

1. 1st · 17:18

   Vladislav Gavrikov Goal (1) Wrist Shot, assists: Adam Fox (4)

2. 2nd · 14:29

   Nick Schmaltz Goal (4) Backhand, assists: Clayton Keller (5)

3. 3rd · 3:15

   Gabe Perreault Goal (2) Wrist Shot, assists: Alexis Lafrenière (1), Mika Zibanejad (2)

4. 3rd · 12:47

   J.T. Miller Goal (1) Deflected, assists: Vladislav Gavrikov (1), Tye Kartye (2)

5. 3rd · 14:57

   Andrew Peeke Goal (1) Snap Shot, assists: Anders Lee (1)

6. 3rd · 18:45

   Eeli Tolvanen Goal (3) Wrist Shot, assists: Will Cuylle (2), Igor Shesterkin (1)