Rangers Fall to the Canadiens Late, on a Poor Faceoff Drop by the Linesman

By Daniel Feuerstein | New York, NY | April 2nd, 2026

The New York Rangers hosted the Montreal Canadiens after a puncher victory against the Devils two nights ago. As always, an Original Six match-up between these two historic teams always puts on a fabulous show, either at Madison Square Garden or at the Bell Centre. It would turn out to be another strong performance from both sides, until one moment that allowed the Canadiens to take advantage, which should’ve been whistled down at the faceoff circle. The Rangers would lose to the Canadiens, ending a three-game winning streak by the final score of three to two.

J.T. Miller wins the Rod Gilbert Mr. Ranger award

Before the game started, the 5th annual Mr. Ranger Award was given to Rangers Captain J.T. Miller after he and his wife donated a large check to the Garden of Dreams Foundation. Rod Gilbert’s wife, Judy, announced, along with Adam Graves, outside the Zamboni entrance. The award was named after Rod Gilbert, as he was dedicated to New York City and the club that signed him and played his entire career, and was the first player to have his number retired by the Rangers. Worked for the Rangers in their front office and was an analyst for Rangers games on Television.

Game Recap

After a scoreless first period, the Canadiens once again got on the scoreboard first in these three games. Taking advantage of the Rangers’ defense and beating Igor Shesterkin. The Canadiens won the draw at the near faceoff circle and tried to control the puck. Conor Sheary got control and tried to pass it to a teammate. Still, he accidentally shot it off a Candiens attacker, and the passing play began as Ivan Demidov took the puck and found Alex Newhook inside the slot, and beat Shesterkin at 4:36 of the second period.

The Canadiens got their second of the game cycling around the Rangers’ zone when Nick Suzuki got possession of the puck and sent it behind the net toward Juraj Slafkovský. He quickly sent the puck out toward the far faceoff circle and found Cole Caufield, who rips it high over the shoulder of Shesterkin at 6:20 of the second period. The way the Canadiens passed the puck around and played keep-away paid off in the end.

The Rangers came back in the third period to make it a game. Cycling around the Canadiens zone, it was Alexis Lafreniere who started the play with a big shot at the net. The puck was loose as a crowd started to scramble. Valdislav Gavrikov tried to put the puck in, but it deflected off Mika Zibanejad, and somehow Adam Fox was able to pick up the loose puck and shoot it into the net to cut the deficit to one at 9:23 of the third period.

The tying goal was scored by the Rangers. The rush up the ice saw Vincent Trocheck and Jonny Brodzinsky play a little bit of catch with the puck, but then Brodzinsky took the shot at the net. Will Cuylle skates down the middle of the ice and into the slot to look for a rebound with a man on him, but somehow the puck deflected off his chest and into the net. While the Candiens thought there might have been goalie interference, the goal counted at 14:08 of the third period.

The Canadiens were able to get the lead back, with some help from Linesman Dan Kelly. As Nick Suzuki lined up at the near faceoff circle inside the Candiens’ zone against J.T. Miller. Zusuki jumped the faceoff before Miller was set to put his stick at the dot and allowed Suzuki to win the faceoff without a challenge. Mike Matheson sent the puck around the boards and found Caufield skating down the far side, entered the Rangers zone without a defenseman, and beat Shesterkin at 14:55 of the third period.

Linesman Dan Kelly was seen having a conversation with both Suzuki and Miller before he dropped the puck, then, out of nowhere, Kelly dropped the puck without allowing Miller to prepare for the draw and gave the Canadiens an advantage. Kelly should’ve blown his whistle to restart the faceoff at the near side and kicked out Suzuki for moving too early from his position. Instead, that mistake by Kelly dropped two points for the Rangers in this game. Regardless of where the Rangers are in the standings, that situation should never happen at any time of the season.

ADAM FOX: Extended his point streak to five games (2G-6A) with his 70th career goal, tying Dave Maloney for the seventh most goals all time among Rangers defensemen.

WILL CUYLLE: Scored his 50th career goal and notched his 100th career point.

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