Rangers Rookies Shine in Victory over the Blackhawks, Breaks Six Game Losing Streak

By Daniel Feuerstein | New York, NY | March 27th, 2026

The New York Rangers returned from their one-game road trip to Toronto and got ready to face the Chicago Blackhawks at Madison Square Garden. The last time they played the Hawks, the Rangers got blitzed with a three-goal shutout loss. Now back at The Garden, these two teams with their young rosters for the future battled each other for three periods. At the end of the night, it was the Rangers that got the best of the Hawks as they earned a six-to-one victory with many players getting their first point and or win.

Drew Fortescue gets his first game

When the Rangers signed their Defenseman prospect Drew Fortescue after his college hockey career was over, the Boston College player who was teammates with Gabe Perreault signed his entry-level contract and suited up against the Blackhawks. The Pearl River, New York, native had plenty of family and friends at Madison Square Garden, and he looked calm and poised on the ice. While he might have been nervous on the inside, he never showed it on the outside.

“I thought he was solid, you know, for the most part. You know, he. He played the game with composure, and he didn’t just throw pucks away. He made some outlet passes. He had good poise. I thought he had a high panic threshold. He didn’t throw pucks away when he was under pressure. He protected it. He defended well. I think he’s got a good stick, decent mobility. So there’s a lot to like about Drew’s game. For such a young kid in his first NHL game, I thought he played really well,” said Mike Sullivan

Game recap

After the Blackhawks opened the scoring late in the first period, the Rangers quickly took over the rest of the game and tied it up right away with some hard skating and solid playmaking. Braden Schneider at the far point tossed it down low to the near post at Conor Sheary, who tried to shoot the puck, but was blocked. He did retrieve the puck quickly and tried to pass it in front towards J.T. Miller. Somehow the puck deflected off the right skate of Miller, then a quick touch off a Chicago defender, and slithered into the net at 18: 32 of the first period. 

The Rangers would get three more goals in the second period to take the lead and keep it all game long. There was a scramble down low as Miller tried to stuff the puck into the net, but couldn’t as a defender checked him. Somehow, Matthew Robertson got control of the puck at the far side near the net and snapped a shot inside the back post and the upper corner at 5:24 of the second period. 

The next goal came from mucking around the near boards at center ice. Vincent Trocheck found a way to move the puck toward the Blackhawks’ zone and found Will Cuylle skating down the ice. Trailing the play was Adam Sykora down the slot. Cuylle gave a quick pass to Sykora, and he snapped the shot over the blocker of Arvid Soderblom to earn his first National Hockey League goal. Sykora skated around the far boards into a huge celebration mode and got a big hug from his linemates at 8:20 of the second period. 

The third goal of the period, and the fourth of the game, came on a fantastic individual effort when Jaroslav Chmelar tracked a floating puck in the air inside the Blackhawls’ zone and grabbed it with his right hand to play it from the far point. He skated down the far boards and cut across to get in front of the net to score, but had the puck knocked off his stick. He turned around with a dive to knock the puck away and somehow got it toward Will Borgan, who found Jonny Brodzinsky, and he hammered it in at 16:07 of the second period. 

The Rangers scored on the power play, and once again, the red-hot Alexis Lafreniere found a way to convert his chance. After winning the faceoff in the near circle, Miller received the puck from Mika Zibanejad and found Adam Fox at the point. Fox ripped a shot towards the net, but cutting across in the slot was Lafreniere as he redirected the puck inside the near post at 13:17 of the third period. Then, the final goal of the night was started by Drew Fortescue as he entered the offensive zone, found Taylor Raddysh along the far boards. He made a quick pass to the high slot and found Brodzinsky shooting it through a screen and scored his second of the game at 16:00 of the third period. 

Dylan Garand earns his first NHL win

All night long, Dylan Garand was brilliant in net, making multiple saves and some tremendous stops with his glove and or his pads. He was determined to make sure he kept the lead for his team when they were up by five goals. The Blackhawks had several breakaways, but Garand made sure he thwarted the Hawks every chance he got. He earned his first NHL Win as a goaltender, and it was a heck of a celebration when the Rangers skated to their netminder and celebrated with him.

Mike Sullivan’s Comments

“I thought that the guys played great. We brought a lot of energy. It was a pretty solid team game. You can see that the enthusiasm that the young kids bring to the lineup, I think, is contagious. I think it’s infectious with our veteran guys. Obviously excited for them. There were some milestones, you know. Siki gets his first NHL goal. Drew Fortescue gets his first NHL point in his first NHL game. Dylan Garan gets his first win as a goalie. It’s just fun. I’m happy for the players. To see the positive energy around the group was great to see. The energy level on the bench, when Sikora gets his first goal, you guys could probably see it. How all the guys react to those types of things? It’s a great feeling when you have that energy around the group,” said Mike Sullivan

FRIDAY NIGHT FIRSTS: Fortescue and Sykora both notched their first career NHL points (Fortescue with an assist and Sykora with a goal), and Jaroslav Chmelar notched his first career NHL assist. Sykora became the sixth Rangers player this season to score their first career goal.

SCORING HIGH: New York registered six goals in a game for the 10th time this season, tied for the third-most games among all NHL teams. They have registered at least three goals in back-to-back games and in 12 of their last 14 games.

ALEXIS LAFRENIERE: Notched his eighth power play goal of the season and has scored a power play goal in back-to-back games. He ranks second on the Rangers this season in goals (22), and since Mar. 2, his nine goals are tied for the most in the NHL.

DYLAN GARAND: Has helped the Rangers earn points in each of his two career NHL games (1-0-1) and became the second Rangers goaltender in the past decade to start their career with a point in each of their first two games (last Shesterkin, 2019-20).

ADAM FOX: Collected an assist on Lafreniere’s goal and has 12 points (1G-11A) over his last 13 games. He leads all Rangers defensemen this season in assists (35) and points (39). Since Mar. 5, his 11 assists are tied for the most in the league among all NHL blueliners.

JONNY BRODZINSKY: Registered his third career multi-goal game and first of the season.