March 5, 2026; New York, New York, USA; Toronto Maple Leafs (left wing) Matthew Nice (23) and New York Rangers left wing Will Cuill (50) fight for the puck during the second quarter at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images Alexis Lafreniere scored the tying goal at 5:38 of the third period Thursday night, giving the host New York Rangers a 6-2 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Rangers drew 2-2 when Lafreniere burst through the slot and parked in front of goalkeeper Joseph Woll. Mika Zibanejad’s shot from the center of the zone near the blue line sent Toronto defensemen Jake McCabe and Troy Stetzer clear of the puck, but Lafrenière lifted his stick and deflected Wall.
Will Cuylle scored in the first period and then closed with an empty-net goal with 2:51 left, and Vladislav Gavrikov scored his second tying goal on a power play in the second period.
The Rangers scored twice in 52 seconds to take a 5-2 lead when rookie Jaroslav Khmelar scored his first career goal on a partial breakaway and Zibanejad scored into an open net.
Zibanejad scored six goals for the Rangers’ seventh time this season and also added two assists. A big third period gave the Rangers their third regulation victory on home ice this season and their first since Nov. 24 against the St. Louis Blues.
Matias Maccelli scored 13 seconds into the contest and rookie Easton Cowan scored his second goal before the Maple Leafs allowed five straight goals and tied their worst record of the season with their sixth straight loss.
New York goalie Igor Shesterkin made 4 of 29 saves against Auston Matthews. Wall allowed five goals on 24 shots.
As Friday’s trade deadline approaches, both teams have released players for roster management purposes. The Rangers sat Vincent Trocheck and Sam Carrick, while the Maple Leafs had Scott Laughton, Bobby McMann and defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson play for the second straight game.
Toronto took an early lead when Maccelli was left alone in front of the net and scored a one-timer over Shesterkin’s pad.
The Rangers evened it with 6:45 to play in the contest when Cuylle parked in front of Woll and stuck out his stick just in time to deflect Braden Schneider’s shot in the right spot.
Toronto regained the lead 5:27 into the second period when Cowan was open in the left circle, took a pass from Matthew Knies and lifted a shot to Shesterkin. New York tied the game about two minutes later when Gavrikov put a rebound into the open net.
–Field level media
