Rangers Win Third Straight, 4-2 Over the Mammoth, but Lose Joseph Veleno to Troubling Injury

NEW YORK — The New York Rangers ran their winning streak to three games Sunday evening at Madison Square Garden, scoring three times in the third period to beat the Utah Mammoth 4-2 in a grinding, physical game that doubled as a reunion of sorts — the two clubs met for the first time since swapping Vincent Trocheck and Sean Durzi in a pivotal July 1 trade. But the win came with a cost the Rangers will be watching closely this week: center Joseph Veleno left the game early with a lower-body injury and did not return.

Vladislav Gavrikov opened the scoring late in the first period, beating Karel Vejmelka with a wrister from the top of the zone — and the period's final horn was barely out of the way before things got nasty. Utah's Barrett Hayton shoved Noah Laba before the ensuing faceoff, and a melee broke out in the circle. The Mammoth evened it early in the second when Nick Schmaltz scored on the power play — the first power-play goal the Rangers' penalty kill has allowed all season.

It was a 1-1 grind deep into the night — both teams were held to single-digit shots in each of the first two periods, a measure of how much of the game was played in the trenches rather than in the crease. Then, just over three minutes into the third, the Rangers broke it open. Mika Zibanejad and Alexis Lafreniere came in on a 2-on-1 that Vejmelka somehow turned aside, but Gabe Perreault followed the play, buried the rebound and made it 2-1 — his second goal of the season.

Captain J.T. Miller then delivered the game's biggest moment, scoring his first goal of the season to extend the lead, with Gavrikov earning the primary assist. It capped a quietly excellent night for Gavrikov, who appears to be carrying over the surprise offensive contributions he found last season — a goal, the setup on the winner, and steady minutes alongside Adam Fox on the top pair. The Mammoth got one back late, but the Rangers closed out a 4-2 final.

The night's real storyline, though, may have happened three shifts into the first period. Veleno went down awkwardly along the boards in a tangle with Utah's Clayton Keller. He struggled to get to the bench, consulted with a team trainer, and then had to be assisted down the tunnel to the dressing room — not putting any weight on his right leg as he made his way. The Rangers confirmed he would not return, and while no official timeline has been given, the optics were troubling for a player who had only just joined the team.

The 26-year-old signed a one-year, $1.2 million contract in the offseason after spending last season with his hometown Montreal Canadiens, and he had been carving out a real role — averaging 14:45 of ice time a night and skating on the penalty kill's top unit. He had yet to find the scoresheet in his first three games, but with limited center depth across the organization, even a short absence is a problem the Rangers can ill afford.

Of all the positions on the roster, center is the one where the Rangers can least afford a hole. The internal options at Hartford — Justin Dowling, Glenn Gawdin, Cole Beaudoin, Juuso Parssinen and Dylan Roobroeck — offer limited answers: only Dowling, Gawdin and Parssinen have any NHL experience at all. Any prolonged absence for Veleno would force head coach Mike Sullivan to reshuffle a lineup he has already been tinkering with — at Sunday's morning skate, Tye Kartye moved up to skate alongside Miller and Pavel Dorofeyev, with Oliver Bjorkstrand sliding down to the fourth line next to Veleno and Jaroslav Chmelar.

The chippiness never really left the building. Beyond the Laba-Hayton melee, the game kept boiling over — later, Will Cuylle crunched Dylan Guenther into the boards and another scrum followed. It was that kind of evening: two teams that know each other's personnel a little too well. Trocheck, skating for the Mammoth, and Durzi, wearing Rangers blue, faced their former clubs for the first time since the July 1 deal that sent Trocheck to Utah in exchange for Durzi, forward Cole Beaudoin and a third-round pick in the 2027 NHL Draft. Durzi said Sunday morning that playing your old team is always strange: 'It's always weird playing your old team. I've done it now a couple times, but you got love for those guys for the last couple years.'

Igor Shesterkin was in goal for the Rangers, three nights after scoring the first goalie goal in franchise history in Thursday's 5-1 win over Tampa Bay. He came into the night with a 1.51 goals-against average and a .935 save percentage through his first two starts, and he gave the Rangers exactly the kind of calm, unbothered goaltending a one-goal third period demands. Vejmelka, who had shut out Chicago 6-0 in Utah's season opener, started for the Mammoth — but there was no saving this one once the Rangers' third period arrived.

The win moves the Rangers to 3-1-0 and keeps the early-season momentum building after a 2-1-0 start. Utah, which arrived unbeaten at 2-0-0, takes its first loss of the season. The Rangers' next test comes fast: the first subway series battle of the season Tuesday against the Islanders, before a trip to Washington on Thursday.

Sunday was a reminder of how thin the line is in October. The Rangers got two points, a captain's goal, and another night of offense from an unlikely defenseman. They also watched a center get helped down the tunnel without putting weight on a leg. The standings say 3-1-0. The trainer's room may tell a different story this week — and with the Islanders on Tuesday, the Rangers may not get the luxury of waiting to find out.