Rangers Roll To Fourth Straight Victory: Biggest Takeaways From Win Over Islanders

The New York Rangers defeated the New York Islanders 5-2 on Tuesday night, marking their fourth straight win.

After a grueling five games in eight nights, the Rangers have come away with an impressive 4-1 record to kick off the 2026-27 season.

"We just went through a pretty tough stretch, five games in eight nights against some pretty good teams, and these guys, they're competing hard,” Mike Sullivan said. 

On Tuesday night, the Rangers’ recipe to success was more or less the same, with a more structured brand of hockey at both ends of the ice at the forefront. 

Here are some of the biggest takeaways from Tuesday night’s game for the Blueshirts: 

Cole Beaudoin Makes NHL Debut: 

With Joe Veleno placed on injured reserve due to a lower-body injury, the Rangers recalled Cole Beaudoin from the Hartford Wolf Pack of the American Hockey League. 

The Blueshirts acquired Beaudoin as part of the trade that sent Vincent Trocheck to the Mammoth, and while the 2024 first-round pick wasn’t necessarily expected to be pushed up to the NHL this early, his hot start in Hartford, in which he recorded five points in two games, led to the call-up.

“This is something I’ve worked for as a little kid, a dream come true,” Beaudoin said. “Playing my first NHL game and just all the hours put into this, and all the coaching staff, my parents, my brothers, just pushing me, helping me to get to this point. It means a lot that they were able to be here again tonight.”

Beaudoin was noticeably aggressive on the forecheck and in the offensive zone, as he was able to use his 6-foot-2 frame to his advantage, keeping plays alive and playing a physical brand of hockey. 

The 20-year-old forward’s reliable two-way game gave Sullivan the confidence to put him in some defensive situations, specifically taking defensive-zone draws.

“I thought we were good on the forecheck which caused some of those chances in the offensive zone,” Beaudoin said. “Then in the D-zone when we were there, I thought we were pretty sound. So I thought we did a good job and played our game, played our role.”

Beaudoin played 9:57 minutes while recording a 54.5% faceoff win percentage. 

Oliver Bjorkstrand Provides Offensive Spark:

When the Rangers signed Oliver Bjorkstrand to a one-year, $4.5 million contract during the offseason, the expectation was that he would give the team a much-needed offensive boost. 

On Tuesday night, Bjorkstrand scored two goals, finding the back of the net for the first time as a member of the Rangers.

Throughout the entirety of training camp and to start the season, Bjorkstrand was playing on a line with J.T. Miller and Pavel Dorofeyev, slotted into a prominent top-six role. 

However, Bjorkstrand has been demoted to the fourth line over the past couple of games, raising questions about what his overall role will actually look like. 

Sullivan didn’t view this change as a demotion, and he envisions Bjorkstrand being utilized in a multitude of ways moving forward.

“That's one of the things that we felt we could do for our team is score goals, regardless of where we put him in the lineup. He's shown an ability to score goals in this league,” Sullivan said. “We felt like adding him as part of our 12 would potentially boost our offense… 

“I would imagine throughout the rest of the season, he's probably a guy we're going to move around because he's fairly versatile. So he may go up and down lines depending on what the needs are at the time. So he's a valuable player for us. He had a great night for us.”

Alexis Lafrenière Continues To Expand Game:

Alexis Lafrenière recorded a hat trick against the Islanders with two empty-net goals. The main takeaway wasn’t that he completed the hat trick, but why he was on the ice for those empty net goals in the first place. 

Since Sullivan’s arrival last season, we’ve seen Lafrenière embrace playing a hard-nosed and physical brand of hockey. 

While he may have been known for being a flashy offensive player when originally coming into the NHL, Lafrenière's game has evolved, and he’s now a multidimensional player to the point where Sullivan trusts him on the ice in 6-on-5 situations.

“If you notice, we are using him on 5-on-6. That’s a responsibility, that's a privilege. We think that he’s a guy that’s very capable there and we’re challenging him there to bring a defensive conscientious in those situations, and he gets rewarded with empty-net opportunities. We;re ot just handing this stuff to Laf. He’s earned that, and that’s why we've given him that opportunity. His overall game, his complete game on both sides of the puck continues to grow and develop.”

From an offensive standpoint, the 24-year-old forward has looked comfortable playing on a line with Mika Zibanejad and Gabe Perreault, as he continues to flash off his high potential. 

"His ceiling, I don't think he's touched it yet,” Zibanejad said of Lafrenière.

Rangers Keep Up Structured Defensive Hockey:

Outside of maybe goaltending, the Rangers’ biggest key to their recent success has to be the way that they’ve been able to defend. 

Similar to their previous three wins, the Rangers held a one-goal lead heading into the third period against the Islanders, and put on a valiant defensive effort in front of Igor Shesterkin to come out with the victory. 

The Blueshirts gave up a season-low of 19 shots on Tuesday night, and the Islanders only squeaked out five shots in the final frame, indicative of the Rangers’ evolving defensive-team game.

“We really liked our third period,” Zibanejad said. “I think the team game has been great, and that’s a good sign… I think we just keep playing. We don’t back off. I think we're confident in our game and what we're capable of doing.”

It’s not just the way the Rangers are defending, but it’s sticking true to their system and continuing to play loose and aggressive even when trying to maintain a lead. 

“We’re not sitting back trying to defend leads. We’re playing hard, playing on our toes, but we’re doing it responsibility,” Sullivan said. “I think that’s a great sign for us the way we’re competing in the third periods as well. I’m proud of the guys.”