Daily Report – 1/27/26
Rangers
The Rangers haven’t earned a regulation win at home since November 24. Today is January 27. But sometimes, an overtime win is worth settling for.
In front of several Legendary Blueshirts from the 1994 Stanley Cup-winning team, rookie defenseman Matthew Robertson played hero yesterday as the Rangers overcame a 3-2 deficit to defeat the Boston Bruins in overtime. They clinched the season series over their Beantown rivals and snapped a three-game losing streak. The win marked the Rangers’ sixth at home this season, and their first at the Garden in 2026.
Image Courtesy: New York Rangers
“We needed the win,” Robertson said. “I think that was the biggest part, just to finally get the win.”
Was it too little too late? Absolutely. After the game, the Rangers officially announced the first move of their highly anticipated retool, trading defenseman Carson Soucy to the Islanders in exchange for a third-round pick in this year’s draft. It was the first time the Rangers made a trade with their crosstown rivals since 2010. Okay, more like their “crosstown and keep going” rivals, but you get the picture.
If Chris Drury is willing to trade with the Islanders, then there’s no telling where he’ll send his next victim.
When asked about how he feels about the final days of his team’s current roster, JT Miller said, “To be honest with you, I try not to think about it. It is what it is at this point. We have a close group in here. This isn’t the position any of us thought we were gonna be in at the start of the season. It’s a business, and we’re just trying to treat it like normal days.”
If last night’s win clarified anything, it is that this Rangers team is legitimately trying to win games. This season has been all but disastrous. The Rangers sit five points below Ottawa for last place in the Eastern Conference. They hold a 6-13-4 mark on home ice. They have the second-most road wins in the East for some reason, but are tied for the second-most regulation road losses, too, which makes no sense.
But after Robertson’s heroic move down the ice last night, the Rangers, as happy as they have been in weeks, burst off the bench to celebrate. They bear-hugged Robertson along the end boards, and no one was more excited for him than Matt Rempe, who returned to the Rangers’ lineup after missing 24 games with a broken thumb. He played 12 games in December but had to miss another six because his thumb was still bothering him.
In the end, yesterday’s win was for Soucy. Two of the Rangers’ four goals were scored by a defenseman, including Will Borgen, whose third-period wrist shot ultimately forced overtime. And it was the Rangers’ defense that kept Boston from netting any shots on goal for nearly four minutes of extra time.
Will Cuylle’s goal in the first period, which gave the Rangers the lead at 10:15, came on a tip from a slap shot by blueliner Urho Vaakanainen at the left point. Elias Lindholm tied the game three minutes later, but it took JT Miller just 26 seconds to respond.
“I think we came in with a good mindset today,” said Miller, whose goal came off the rush on a perfect cross-ice pass from Gabe Perreault. “We can’t sit around and feel sorry for ourselves. We need to attack and go forward, and if you’re going to make mistakes, make them playing hard.”
This has been a difficult season for Miller, whose -18 net rating is the lowest on the Rangers. It’s crazy to think that the Rangers and Canucks, who participated in the Miller trade last season, each sit at the bottom seed in their respective conferences. What’s even more shocking is that two years ago, each team won its division.
The Rangers finished the opening period with a 2-1 lead, but Boston struck back in the next frame. It took Elias Lindholm just three minutes to score again, tying the game at two after Miller turned the puck over to his head coach’s son-in-law, Charlie McAvoy, on a clearing attempt. Six minutes later, Morgan Geekie netted the go-ahead tally.
Both goals were assisted by David Pastrnak, who finished with three assists, including his 900th career point. In his last two games against the Rangers, Pastrnak has recorded nine helpers.
But the Rangers weren’t impressed with the 900 bowls of Spaghetti the Bruins posted on their X account in honor of Pastrnak. Powered by eight third-period saves from the 40-year-old Jonathan Quick, the Rangers extended the game. At 6:17, Artemi Panarin passed the puck to Will Borgen above the right circle, who fired it through traffic and past Joonas Korpisalo for the equalizer.
Quick finished the night with 21 saves and an assist on Robertson’s game-winner. The win marked the 408th of Quick’s career, passing Glenn Hall for the 12th most in NHL history. It was also Quick’s first victory since November 7 and since moving into the starting role on January 5, when Igor Shesterkin got injured.
“I just think that speaks volumes for his body [of] work in this league,” head coach Mike Sullivan observed of Quick, a future first-ballot Hall-of-Famer. “He means a lot to this team. He’s a great leader. He competes extremely hard. He’s one of the more popular guys in our dressing room for good reason. I just think all of us that are a part of this team have so much respect for what he’s accomplished in this game, and his passion for the game as he continues to strive for excellence every single day.”
With 1:15 left in overtime, Quick cradled the puck for Matthew Robertson, who singlehandedly outskated Pavel Zacha as he charged down the right boards in the neutral zone, through the right circle, and into the inner hashmarks, where he unraveled a wrist shot that snuck through Korpisalo’s legs.
“I was honestly going to pull up, and then I thought I had a little bit of a step on [Zacha],” Robertson said. “Just tried to take it to the net, and kind of blacked out from there.”
There is no telling who on this Rangers team will be the next to depart, but at least they got to enjoy a happy moment on home ice. The Blueshirts will play back-to-back games against Carson Soucy and the Islanders this week, beginning on Long Island tomorrow night. The Rangers will have to cross town and keep going.
“I’m really happy for the players,” Sullivan said. “To get a win at home in that fashion, I think, is a huge boost to the group. I think this group’s been through a lot over the last three weeks or so.”
Schedule
7:30 PM (6:30 PM CST): NYK vs. SAC; MSG, Gotham Sports
7:30 PM (6:30 PM CST): Yankees Hot Stove; YES, Gotham Sports
9:00 PM (8:00 PM CST): 2026 Australian Open – Men’s and Women’s Quarterfinals; Rod Laver Arena; ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN App
7:30 PM (6:30 PM CST): Women’s Singles Quarterfinals – E. Rybakina [5] vs. I. Swiatek [2]; ESPN2, ESPN App
Not Before 9:00 PM (8:00 PM CST): Women’s Singles Quarterfinals – J. Pegula [6] vs. A. Anisimova [4]; ESPN2, ESPN App
Not Before 10:30 PM (9:30 PM CST): Men’s Singles Quarterfinals – L. Musetti [5] vs. N. Djokovic [4]; ESPN2, ESPN App
3:00 AM (2:00 AM CST): Men’s Singles Quarterfinals – B. Shelton [8] vs. J. Sinner [2]; ESPN, ESPN App
Cover Image Courtesy: New York Rangers
