Rangers Beat Ducks 5-2, Flyers Edge Avalanche 3-2: NHL Roundup

The New York Rangers stayed perfect at home on Monday night, beating the Anaheim Ducks 5-2 at Madison Square Garden behind two goals from Oliver Bjorkstrand and 29 saves from rookie goalie Dylan Garand.

Sean Durzi scored 78 seconds into the game, the third straight home game in which New York scored inside the first two minutes. Captain J.T. Miller added a power-play goal at 4:38 of the second period, Gabe Perreault scored at 10:17, and Bjorkstrand made it 4-0 at 13:14 of the second. Bjorkstrand scored again early in the third for his second two-goal game with the Rangers.

Garand nearly had his second career shutout. Anaheim broke through with 69 seconds left in regulation, when Nick Jensen scored at 18:51 of the third, and A.J. Greer added a second goal at 19:27. It was too late to matter. Anaheim backup Ville Husso allowed five goals on 30 shots.

The Ducks had a rough trip east. Flight delays held them up for hours, and the team reached its hotel at about 2:30 a.m. on game day. Anaheim took its third straight loss and its first road loss of the season, falling to 4-3-0. New York improved to 6-3-1 and 6-0-0 at home. The Rangers have opened with six straight home wins for the third time in team history and the first time since the 1990-91 season, when they set the club record with eight.

Garand has now made five straight starts since franchise goalie Igor Shesterkin was lost for the season. He has allowed two goals or fewer in nine of his 10 NHL appearances.

Flyers hold off the Avalanche

In Philadelphia, Matvei Michkov scored twice and the Flyers beat the Colorado Avalanche 3-2 for their second win of the season. Michkov opened the scoring on the power play at 7:41 of the first period and doubled the lead at 12:22 of the second with a shot from the point through traffic.

Martin Necas got Colorado on the board at 17:52 of the second, his fifth goal of the season. Devon Toews assisted on the play and tied John-Michael Liles for the third-most assists by a defenseman in franchise history, with 207. Noel Acciari restored the two-goal lead at 6:32 of the third with a net-front deflection. T.J. Hughes scored at 14:40 of the third to cut the lead to one, but Joseph Woll stopped 24 of 26 shots and Philadelphia held on.

Maple Leafs beat the Sharks

In Toronto, the Maple Leafs beat the San Jose Sharks 3-1 at Scotiabank Arena. Mason Marchment gave San Jose the lead in the first period after Tyler Toffoli picked off an exit pass and threw the puck toward the net. Toronto tied the game in the second period and scored twice in the third to close it out. Yaroslav Askarov kept the Sharks close in goal, but San Jose could not find a second goal.

The late game between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Utah Mammoth in Salt Lake City was still in progress at press time and is not included in this roundup.