With the season winding down, the Rangers continue to play some of their best hockey. They swept two home games over a pair of desperate teams hoping to make the playoffs. The Rangers’ big weekend included a 4-1 win over the Red Wings and an 8-1 rout of the Capitals.

The pair of victories was highlighted by two of their emerging young players recording hat tricks on consecutive days for the first time since 1982. Rookie Gabe Perreault posted his first career hat trick on Saturday, April 4. Will Cuylle followed that up by getting the first hat trick of his career on Sunday, Apr. 5.

Prior to Perreault and Cuylle, the last Rangers to record hat tricks in consecutive games were Matt Puempel and Chris Kreider on Dec. 29 and Dec. 31, 2016. In 1982-83, Mike Rogers and Mark Pavelich posted hat tricks a day apart. On Nov. 24, 1982, Rob McLanahan made it three consecutive games by scoring three times against the Minnesota North Stars. In a related note, Pavelich would become the second Blueshirt to score five goals in a game on February 23, 1983 against the Hartford Whalers. Since Pavelich joined Don Murdoch, current Ranger Mika Zibanejad became the third player to record a five-goal game on March 5, 2020 against the Caps.

In the victory over the Red Wings, the Rangers dominated play against an opponent that didn’t show enough urgency despite needing to string together wins to avoid missing a 10th straight postseason.

In what might’ve been the final start at MSG, Jonathan Quick came within 33 seconds of recording his 66th shutout. The 40-year-old future Hall of Famer hasn’t decided yet on whether he’ll retire. It hasn’t been the easiest season, with the former two-time Stanley Cup winner struggling while Rangers starter Igor Shesterkin was out due to a lower-body injury. In his first start since Mar. 18, Quick made 31 saves to backstop the Blueshirts to the win.

The emergence of recent callup Adam Sykora has transformed the fourth line into a much improved part of the Rangers. After starting with J.T. Miller and Tye Kartye on the third line, Sykora was moved down by head coach Mike Sullivan to play with Noah Laba and close friend Jaroslav Chmelar. The two spent a lot of time together in Hartford. Now, they’re having fun providing plenty of energy to a team that’s played much looser since the NHL trade deadline a month ago.

By having a trio of young forwards playing together, Sullivan has a much faster checking line that he can send out to provide a lift. With no score in the first period, Sykora helped set up a Chmelar goal to pick up the first assist of his career. Chmelar finished off his fourth, making it two goals over three games. His size and surprising speed help complement what Laba and Sykora bring. The early cohesion could lead to them becoming a permanent fixture to start the next season.

The only scoring in the second period came from Perreault. Thanks to some crafty work from Zibanejad around the net, he made a nice feed in front that a patient Perreault sniped past John Gibson for a 2-0 lead.

With the Rangers on the back end of a power play in the third period, Jonny Brodzinski centered for a cutting Perreault for an easy tap in that made it 3-0. Perreault’s offensive instincts and high hockey IQ were on display on his second goal. As soon as he moved the puck for Brodzinski, he quickly went to the net for the return feed.

Perreault completed the hat trick with less than two minutes remaining. J.T. Miller made an unselfish pass to Perreault for an empty netter to send plenty of hats on the Garden ice, including where ABC commentator Ray Ferraro was between the benches. Ferraro got to do it all over again on Sunday night. At 20 years and 332 days old, Perreault became the fifth youngest player in Rangers history to score a hat trick at MSG.

It looked like it would be a shutout for Quick. However, the Rangers lost Emmitt Finnie behind the net. He came out and set up David Perron for Detroit’s only goal at 19:27. It would’ve been nice for Quick to get the shutout. But it didn’t ruin the afternoon. If it was indeed his final game at MSG, he went out the right way by recording his 410th career win.

Perreault is up to 15 goals and 10 assists for 25 points in 45 games. Even though he didn’t record a point in the Rangers’ 8-1 win over the Caps, Perreault continues to play with more confidence. Part of the new number one line that also features 2020 top pick Alexis Lafreniere, he’s developed excellent chemistry with both Lafreniere and Zibanejad. They’re all very unselfish, making for three skilled players who complement each other well.

On Easter Sunday, the Rangers turned a 1-1 tie after one period into a laugher against another opponent hoping to qualify for the playoffs. The Caps entered play with 87 points, which trailed the Islanders by two points for third place in the Metropolitan Division. On the day the Islanders stunned everyone by firing Patrick Roy and replacing him with Peter Deboer, the Caps were no match for the more confident Blueshirts.

It didn’t even matter that it also might’ve been Alex Ovechkin’s final game at MSG. The Great Eight recently made it an NHL record 21 straight seasons with at least 30 goals. Ovechkin was held to three shots and a minus-1 in 17:26 of ice time.

The game started quickly with Conor Sheary continuing his strong play by taking a Tye Kartye pass and beating Charlie Lindgren just 23 seconds in. After struggling to finish most of the season, Sheary has three goals in his last five games. Ever since Miller replaced Laba in the middle on the third line, both Sheary and Kartye have been producing. It’s worth noting that Kartye had been playing well with Laba before Sullivan made the change when Laba returned.

The only mistake the Rangers made came when Vladislav Gavrikov didn’t get his shot through. That led to Tom Wilson sending a pass up for Connor McMichael that sent him in for a breakaway goal. After Adam Fox couldn’t recover, McMichael took off and beat Shesterkin top shelf to tie the game. Despite the Caps having a slight edge in play, that was all they could muster.

A five-goal second period turned a close game into a blowout. It started innocently enough when Miller had a Zibanejad centering pass bounce off his skate for a power-play goal.

Less than three minutes later, a strong cycle that Cuylle kept alive resulted in Braden Schneider finding him at the doorstep for a tap in to make it 3-1.

Following a successfully penalty kill, Cuylle returned from the box and took a Vincent Trocheck feed and beat Lindgren from the dot for his 19th.

The offensive explosion continued thanks to the 22 and younger line. Some puck wizardry was highlighted by Laba taking a Chmelar pass and then making a beautiful backhand dish across that Sykora buried for his third.

Fox made it five goals in the period thanks to converting on the power play. After receiving a pass from Zibanejad, Fox let go of a seeing eye wrist shot that went high to beat Lindgren with 1:33 remaining. He had both Trocheck and Lafreniere screening in front.

Fox doesn’t score many power-play goals, but his shot was perfect. Very quietly, he’s been on a roll by putting up 13 points during a seven-game point streak. In fact, he has 22 points (4-18-22) over his last 18 games. That hot stretch has elevated Fox’s season to 50 points in 51 games. Somehow, on a bad team, he’s a plus-7. Twenty-two of his 50 points have come on the power play. An area where he excels. Fox has seemed happier following recent wins. Hopefully, that’s a good sign. He was noncommittal when asked if he wanted to stay by reporters last month.

With the game decided, Trocheck added his 16th scoring unassisted on a mini-break by going five-hole. A likely candidate to get moved this off-season due to the trade rumors, the veteran has continued to play with poise. Considering all the struggles the Red Wings have had, he would look pretty good in the middle there. It remains to be seen what will happen with Trocheck.

During what Marv Albert used to call “extended garbage time” in the NBA, Perreault had a backhand destined for the net blocked by Jakob Chychrun, who took the puck off his face. He saved a goal. Chychrun also fought Cuylle during the second. It was one of three scraps. Kartye cleaned up against Brandon Duhaime near the conclusion of the second. With less than five minutes remaining in the contest, Laba squared off against Hendrix Lapierre.

For the longest time, it looked like the Rangers would win 7-1. Instead, Lafreniere and Zibanejad combined to set up Cuylle in the slot for the hat trick with 32 seconds left. Give Sullivan a nod for having Cuylle out in place of Perreault to get his first career hat trick.

For Cuylle, it allowed him to match his career-high of 20 goals set last season. At times, he’s struggled with consistency in his third year. He’s gotten a bit lost in the shuffle by being moved around and losing power play time. Hopefully, the three-goal game can provide the Toronto native with a springboard for 2026-27.

Sabres Visit MSG on Wednesday

With only four games remaining, the Rangers have a couple of days off to prepare for the playoff bound Sabres on Wednesday in the final home game of the season at MSG.

Buffalo clinched their first postseason berth in 15 years thanks to a Rangers’ win over Detroit. The Sabres are locked in a battle for first in the Atlantic Division with the Lightning and Canadiens. Buffalo and Tampa Bay will square off later tonight. A Sabres win in regulation would tie them in points with the Lightning. The Bolts own the tiebreaker due to having one less game played. The Sabres have the tiebreaker over the Canadiens if they finish tied.

Edstrom Remains Out

Ever since Sullivan indicated that he’s looking for “more consistency” from Adam Edstrom back on Mar. 27, he hasn’t returned to the lineup. The second-year forward hasn’t played since Mar. 23.

For a player who started the season on the fourth line, and then was being tried out at center by Sullivan before getting sat out, is it time to wonder what Edstrom’s future is? In 35 games, he has three goals and two assists. The 25-year-old forward has struggled with injuries in his first two seasons. In 97 career games, he’s totaled 16 points (10-6-16). While he and Matt Rempe have missed significant time, they’ve been passed on the depth chart by the promising Chmelar and Sykora, who seem to fit into Sullivan’s plans. It’s possible that both Edstrom and Rempe could be dealt this summer.