Rangers 5, Ducks 2: Bjorkstrand Twice, Garden Still Perfect

October 19, 2026 - New York - Sean Durzi snapped it from the point through a screen 78 seconds in. Madison Square Garden had the start it wanted. Anaheim had landed at the hotel at 2:30 a.m. after a 15-hour travel day. The Ducks did not look like a club that had won four of five before this trip.

The New York Rangers beat the Anaheim Ducks 5-2. New York is 7-3-1 and 6-0-0 at home, the first time the club has opened 6-0-0 at the Garden since 1990-91, per NHL.com. Last season the sixth home win did not arrive until Jan. 26. Anaheim is 4-4-0, three losses in a row. Shots were 31-30 Anaheim. Attendance was 18,006, per ESPN.

Dylan Garand, Gabe Perreault, Pavel Dorofeyev, Ville Husso, Nick Jensen, Taylor Raddysh, Braden Schneider, Frank Vatrano, Pavel Mintyukov, Jeff Malott, and Spencer Martin are not seeded on AthX player pages, so those names stay unlinked.

Oliver Bjorkstrand scored twice. Durzi, J.T. Miller, and Perreault each scored once. Alexis Lafrenière had two assists. Garand stopped 29 of 31. Jensen and A.J. Greer scored 36 seconds apart in the last 70 seconds. Husso stopped 25 of 30.

1:18, then a building that already knew the script

The NHL recap said New York has scored in the first two minutes in three straight home games, the second time that has happened in franchise history (March 15-22, 1989). Durzi had that experience on the other coast. He told NHL.com starts are huge, especially at home, then staying on top of a club that just flew east.

Miller made it 2-0 at 4:38 of the second on the power play. He stood in front and deflected Adam Fox's wrist from the point. Lafrenière and Fox on the NHL landing.

Perreault made it 3-0 at 10:17. Durzi's forecheck down the right wall. Lafrenière went around Beckett Sennecke and sent a backhand from the right circle to Mika Zibanejad in the left. Zibanejad one-touched it. Perreault settled it at the right post. "That was an easy one," he told NHL.com. Durzi said the support lets him be aggressive.

Bjorkstrand made it 4-0 at 13:14. He picked off Sennecke's backhand in the middle of Anaheim's zone, went in alone, and beat Husso. Mike Sullivan told NHL.com the two goals looked the same: bar down, a real release.

5-0, then two that did not change the night

Bjorkstrand scored again at 3:26 of the third, a snap through Husso's legs off Taylor Raddysh. Schneider had the other assist on the landing. 5-0.

Jensen, in his season debut, broke the shutout at 18:51 with a slap from the slot over Garand's stick. Alex Killorn and Vatrano the assists. Greer was credited at 19:27 off the goaltender, Mintyukov the helper. Joel Quenneville told NHL.com the score at the end was flattering, and that his top guys were not very good. Mikael Granlund returned after one game out with an upper-body injury: two shots, minus-2 in 16:08.

Garand has allowed two or fewer in five of six starts this season. He is the starter since Igor Shesterkin went down with a season-ending lower-body injury on Oct. 9. Sullivan told NHL.com the expectation is that Garand wins, makes timely saves, and gives them a chance. Lafrenière said last year at home was a struggle, and the building being loud helps.

The Associated Press recap said Dorofeyev, the summer acquisition, came close several times and stayed on two goals for the season. The NHL box has him with an assist, five shots, and 17:57.

Anaheim visits the Islanders on Tuesday. Lukas Dostal is expected to start that half of the back-to-back, the AP recap said. New York visits Toronto on Thursday.

AthX Engine on a 5-2 that was 5-0 for most of it

AthX Engine (our projection and scoring system) scored Bjorkstrand at 9.80 (two goals, three shots). Lafrenière is 7.30. Durzi is 6.60. Perreault is 6.40. Greer is 6.40. Jensen is 6.10. Miller is 5.70. Dorofeyev is 5.50. Garand's win, 29 saves, and two goals against land at 12.20. Husso is 4.00.

New York's team line is 21.00. Anaheim's 2-5 floors at 0.00.

Fantasy points measure the box. Price is what traders will pay for a Rangers home identity that did not exist last winter, and for a Ducks group that scored twice after the game was already gone. They are not the same number.

Track Bjorkstrand, Lafrenière, Durzi, and both clubs on the marketplace.

*Sources: AP recap (ESPN), ESPN box score, NHL.com recap, NHL.com scoreboard, ESPN NHL scoreboard. AthX Engine fantasy points scored from NHL gamecenter box 2026020137. Information only; not financial advice.*