{"id":541352,"date":"2026-04-05T02:45:16","date_gmt":"2026-04-05T02:45:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/541352\/"},"modified":"2026-04-05T02:45:16","modified_gmt":"2026-04-05T02:45:16","slug":"gabe-perreault-adds-latest-high-to-promising-rangers-season-with-hat-trick","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/541352\/","title":{"rendered":"Gabe Perreault adds latest high to promising Rangers season with hat trick"},"content":{"rendered":"

Gabe Perreault grabbed the baton.<\/p>\n

One of the Rangers\u2019 most promising young players became the latest rookie to add optimism to the final leg of this lost season, recording his first career hat trick in Saturday\u2019s 4-1 win over the Red Wings<\/a> at Madison Square Garden and helping the team claim its\u00a0fourth win in the past five games.<\/p>\n

In the antepenultimate home game of a season that will end with one of the Rangers\u2019 worst home records in the franchise\u2019s 100-year history, the 20-year-old former first-round pick gave the packed crowd a rare memory worth carrying into next season.<\/p>\n

Perreault became the fourth Rangers rookie in the past 30 years to record a hat trick, and one of five rookies in the league to do so this season. <\/p>\n

His three multi-goal games this season are tied for second most among NHL rookies despite appearing in only 45 games.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe trust that he\u2019s earning from his coaches and his teammates, he\u2019s becoming a great player right in front of us,\u201d captain J.T. Miller said. \u201cIt\u2019s exciting to think he\u2019s 20 years old. He\u2019s only gonna get stronger and better and faster, and what he\u2019s been able to do for us is really impressive. He\u2019s just got a really good nose for the game and he\u2019s super smart and has that skill when he gets a chance to make some plays.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"GabeGabe Perreault #94 of the New York Rangers scores a goal during the third period at Madison Square Garden, Saturday April 4th, 2026, in New York, NY. Jason Szenes for the New York Post<\/p>\n

The game \u2014 which featured 31 saves from Jonathan Quick<\/a> \u2014 started in surreal fashion for Perreault, lining up against Patrick Kane.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was my favorite player growing up,\u201d Perreault said. \u201cI looked up to him. On that first draw, I\u2019m like, \u2018Holy sh\u2013t, I\u2019m next to Patrick Kane.\u2019 \u201d<\/p>\n

Fellow Rangers rookie Jaroslav Chmelar opened the scoring by redirecting a blast from Vladislav Gavrikov with 6:41 left in the first period. <\/p>\n

It was Chmelar\u2019s fourth goal of the season and second in the past three games. <\/p>\n

Fellow rookie Adam Sykora was credited with his first assist in his sixth career game.<\/p>\n

Since March 2, Rangers rookies have recorded 17 goals and a total of 38 points. <\/p>\n

Both marks lead the league in that span.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re just trying to enjoy it and take this opportunity and run with it,\u201d Perreault said of the team\u2019s rookie class. \u201cWe\u2019re trying to bring energy and have fun and enjoy every day together.\u201d<\/p>\n

Perreault, who had two points in the previous seven games, broke an 11-game goal drought (March 12) with 4:01 left in the second period, sending a shot over John Gibson\u2019s glove, following a pass through traffic from Mika Zibanejad.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"NewNew York Rangers is greeted by center J.T. Miller #8 of the New York Rangers after he scores a goal during the third period at Madison Square Garden, Saturday April 4th, 2026, in New York, NY. Jason Szenes for the New York Post<\/p>\n

Perreault\u2019s second goal was set up by a pretty feed from Jonny Brodzinski, which gave the Rangers (32-36-9) a 3-0 lead with 12:41 left in the third period.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think the game is slowing down in his mind and his hockey IQ is probably his greatest attribute,\u201d head coach Mike Sullivan said. \u201cHe might not have the open-ice foot speed but he\u2019s pretty elusive in traffic. With his vision and his brain and his stick skills, he\u2019s finding ways to have success.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRead the expert take on the Blueshirts\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSign up for Inside the Rangers, a weekly Sports+ exclusive.\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\tThank you\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

As the clock sprinted down in the third period, Miller was able to get one more chance for Perreault, who scored his 10th goal of the season on an empty net with 1:44 to play.<\/p>\n

First came the hats, falling to the ice. <\/p>\n

Then came the hugs, enveloping the 5-foot-11 wing who found fans wherever he looked.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can see the reaction on the bench, everyone was rooting for him,\u201d Sullivan said. \u201cHe\u2019s an easy guy to root for.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Gabe Perreault grabbed the baton. One of the Rangers\u2019 most promising young players became the latest rookie to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":541353,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5111],"tags":[5,3328,35,5190,5193,4,36,43],"class_list":{"0":"post-541352","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york-rangers","8":"tag-hockey","9":"tag-new-york","10":"tag-new-york-rangers","11":"tag-newyork","12":"tag-newyorkrangers","13":"tag-nhl","14":"tag-rangers","15":"tag-sports"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nhl\/116349812408484203","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/541352","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=541352"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/541352\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/541353"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=541352"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=541352"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=541352"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}