The New York Rangers finally gave their home crowd something to cheer about on Monday night, although not for long.
Artemi Panarin scored just 57 seconds into the first period, snapping a near-historic scoreless streak at Madison Square Garden that had stretched 180 minutes and 57 seconds.
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The goal ended the Rangers’ three-game home drought and prevented them from breaking a 97-year-old NHL record for the longest season-opening goalless stretch on home ice.
Set up by Mika Zibanejad right from behind the goal line, Panarin’s finish marked the Rangers’ first goal of the season at home. It came just minutes before Minnesota tied the game on a Jonas Brodin goal, swinging momentum back to the Wild.
Despite finally finding the net, the Rangers’ struggles continued, and New York couldn’t get over .500 in the standings, now sitting 17th league-wide.
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Wild rookie Danila Yurov scored his first NHL goal midway through the third period, sealing a 3–1 win for Minnesota and extending New York’s home winless streak to four games, albeit the Rangers have been much better far from home, going 3-0-1.
Head coach Mike Sullivan, who has emphasized patience through the team’s offensive slump, said after going 180 minutes without a goal that the results just hadn’t followed.
New York Rangers left wing Artemi Panarin (10) during a stop in play.Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports via Imagn Images
“These guys care an awful lot,” Sullivan said. “They’re invested. They want to win and they want to score. When the puck doesn’t go in, it’s easy for doubt to creep in, and that’s where we have to be vigilant.”
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With Monday’s loss, the Rangers dropped to 3–4–1 overall, with five of those defeats featuring one or no goals. They narrowly avoided replacing the 1928–29 Pittsburgh Pirates in the NHL record book, but the win column remains just as empty at Madison Square Garden.
“We scored early, which was great, but I thought we got outplayed,” Rangers coach Mike Sullivan said after Monday’s loss. “We got outplayed all night.”
The Rangers return to action on Thursday when they’ll face the rebuilding San Jose Sharks, with puck drop set for 7 p.m. ET.
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Related: Rangers’ Artemi Panarin’s Likely Trade Window Revealed Amid Rumors
Related: Rangers Make NHL History for All the Wrong Reasons
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Oct 21, 2025, where it first appeared in the NHL section. Add Athlon Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.