Lafrenière hat trick lifts Rangers past Islanders 5-2

Alexis Lafrenière finished with three goals and an assist as the New York Rangers defeated the New York Islanders 5-2 at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday, Oct. 6. It was New York's fourth consecutive victory.

Oliver Bjorkstrand supplied the Rangers' other two goals, his first with the club. Mika Zibanejad had two assists, and Igor Shesterkin stopped 17 shots. The Rangers are 4-1-0 through 5 games, including wins in all three home games.

Bjorkstrand converted Lafrenière's pass to open the scoring at 6:40 of the first period. Lafrenière doubled the advantage 25 seconds into the second after receiving a long pass from Zibanejad.

Bo Horvat scored on the power play at 2:56 of the second, and Calum Ritchie brought the Islanders level. Bjorkstrand restored the Rangers' lead with a power-play goal at 17:07 of the period.

Lafrenière completed his hat trick with two empty-net goals in the final two minutes, at 18:22 and 18:54 of the third. Sullivan trusted him to defend the one-goal advantage with the Islanders skating six against five; Lafrenière was on the ice for 1:12 on his final shift.

"It means a lot," Lafrenière said of that late-game responsibility. "You always want to be out there late in games, whether you're down one, up one, whatever it is."

Asked afterward about the goal he had set over the summer, his answer was "Win the Cup." The forward said his focus was improving at both ends of the rink rather than setting a personal scoring target.

Sullivan credited Lafrenière's approach over the latter part of last season, saying the staff had seen "breakthrough moments" in his daily work. The coach described encouraging him to find chances near the net when opponents closed off his rush game.

Brayden Schenn contributed two assists for the Islanders, who are 1-2-0 through 3 games. Semyon Varlamov made 19 saves in his first NHL appearance since Nov. 29, 2024, returning after surgery on both knees.