Cullye’s Hat Trick Helps Rangers Destroy the Capitals

By Daniel Feuerstein | New York, NY | April 5th, 2026

The second game in a back-to-back Easter Weekend saw the New York Rangers face the Washington Capitals at Madison Square Garden. After taking out the Red Wings on Saturday Afternoon, the Rangers topped that performance with a destruction of the Caps, by scoring seven unanswered goals after a tied first period at one all. No matter how many chances the Rangers had, the puck was beating Charlie Lindgren all night long as the Rangers pushed the Caps around and tore them to shreds with the final score at eight to one.

Will Cuylle earns his first career hat trick

After Gabe Perreault earned his first career hat trick Saturday afternoon against the Red Wings, it was Will Cuylle’s turn to earn his first career hat trick against the Caps, and he did so in a unique fashion. He earned two goals in the second period and then one inside the final minutes of the game to cement an excellent night at the Garden, giving him a good feeling towards the end of the season. He planted himself in front of the crease after skating around to avoid his defender. Braden Schneider saw Cuylle at the net and sent the puck toward him, which deflected off Cuylle’s left skate and in at 5:53 of the first period.

His second one was after coming out of the penalty box when the Rangers killed off the penalty. Once he entered the offensive zone, Cuylle received the puck from Vincent Trocheck at the near point, skated inside the top of the near faceoff circle, and snapped a hard shot that deflected off the stick of a Capitals defender and went right into the upper corner at 8:33 of the second period. His third and final goal came from the far faceoff circle. After the Capitals won the draw, they put the puck into the corner. Alexis Lafreniere controlled it, passed it up the boards to Mika Zibanejad. Turned around and saw Cuylle alone in the middle of the ice, snapped a high shot off the post and in at 19:28 of the third period.

“He went through a stretch there where he hadn’t scored in like 12 games, but we felt like he was getting a lot closer, just getting inside more, going to the net. getting more looks. We think that’s when he’s at his best. He’s a great athlete, he’s big, he’s strong, he’s fast. You know, when he challenges widely. When he goes to the net, gets inside, I think he’s hard to handle. I’m happy for him because I know how hard he’s working. So to get rewarded with a hat trick tonight is great. It’ll be a good boost of confidence for him. You know, hopefully you can build on it moving forward. I think there’s something to be said for your guys. When a team comes in here that’s fighting for something, that gets them too,” said Mike Sullivan.

Great play all around

The Rangers just kept hammering away against the Capitals throughout the second and third periods as they used Charlie Lindgren like a piñata, smashing goals right through his pads. After Conor Sheary got the opening goal in the first period, then the tying goal from Washington’s Connor McMichael, that’s when the Rangers turned the lights on and started to fill the net. J.T. Miller got the game-winner, planting himself in front of the net and waiting for a great pass from Mika Zibanejad on the power play, and redirected it in off his skate at 3:07 of the second period.

Adam Fox also had a nice chance on goal from the far point on the power play when he just ripped one from distance with no one deflecting the puck while in the air and shot straight into the upper near corner at 18:27 of the second period. But the best goal was towards the beginning of the third period when Vincent Trocheck muscled the puck off of Anthony Beauvillier along the near boards, then skated toward the near faceoff circle and ripped a hard shot at 2:27 of the third period.

The Rookies shine again

The Rookies for the Rangers continue to shine with their time at Madison Square Garden, and their energy is lighting up the locker room as well as lighting up the lamp. From Perreault’s hat trick to another fabulous moment on Garden Ice, and get the crowd excited. Jaroslav Chmelar skates down the far boards and sees Noah Laba posting up inside the faceoff circle. A turnaround backpass toward Adam Sykora as he skated toward the near post and stuffed it in at 13:22 of the second period. Every time you see a positive play happening on the ice, Sykora shows the biggest smile on his face. These kids are the future of the Rangers.

Big goal weekend

A total of 12 goals for and two goals against as the Rangers are finishing up their home portion of the schedule on Wednesday, but this Easter weekend was the best we have ever seen from the Rangers in a very long time. We haven’t seen a performance like this in the current season, and it feels good to see them play like that at home since the horrible start. The hope is to have this type of effort translate to next season.

HAT TRICKIN: The Rangers have notched a hat trick in two consecutive games (Will Cuylle and Gabe Perreault) for the first time since Dec. 29 & Dec. 31, 2016 (Matt Puempel and Chris Kreider), and the first time in consecutive days since Nov. 20 & Nov. 21, 1982 (Mike Rogers and Mark Pavelich).

SCORING HIGH: The Blueshirts scored eight goals in a game for the first time this season and notched five goals in a period, tied for the most goals scored in a period by the team this season. Since Mar. 2, New York has scored 73 goals, the second-most in the NHL.

POWER PLAYERS: The Rangers registered two power play goals in a game for the 10th time this season and have scored a power play goal in 14 of their last 20 games (18 PPG). In that span, their 18 power-play goals are tied for the most in the NHL, and their 31.6 power-play percentage ranks third.

POINT STREAKERS: Seven different Rangers skaters extended their point streaks tonight: Adam Fox – 7 GP (3G-10A), Mika Zibanejad – 4 GP (1G-5A), Vladislav Gavrikov – 3 GP (3A), Jonny Brodzinski – 3 GP (3A), J.T. Miller – 2 GP (1G-2A), Jaroslav Chmelar – 2 GP (1G-1A) and Adam Sykora – 2 GP (1G-1A).

WILL CUYLLE: Notched his first career hat trick and became the fifth Rangers skater to record one this season. He notched his second consecutive 20-goal season and ranks third on the Rangers this season in goals (20). His three multi-goal games this season are tied for the third-most on the Rangers.

ADAM FOX: Extended his point streak to seven-straight games (3G-10A), tied for the second-longest active streak in the NHL, and has recorded five multi-point games in that span, the most in the NHL. He notched his 23rd career three-point game as a Ranger, surpassing Reijo Ruotsalainen for the fifth-most three-point games among all defensemen in franchise history. Scoring his eighth goal of the season, he surpassed Dave Maloney for the seventh-most goals by a defenseman in team history (71).

MIKA ZIBANEJAD: Notched his fifth 40-assist season in a row and sixth as a Ranger, tied for the fifth-most in franchise history. He collected his 15th career three-assist game as a Ranger, surpassing Wayne Gretzky and tying Adam Fox for the seventh most in franchise history. This season, his 33 power play points lead the Rangers and are tied for the seventh-most in the NHL.

VLADISLAV GAVRIKOV: Notched his 34th point of the season with an assist on Cuylle’s second goal, establishing a career high. His three-game assist streak (3A) is tied for the fourth-longest active assist streak among all NHL defensemen.

Another step for the Rangers to improve and prepare for next season with their rookies and have a second consecutive hat trick this time from Will Cuylle.They take down the Capitals, who are trying to remain in a playoff position, as the Rangers ruined their chances.

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