Before they managed to pick up a badly-needed victory on home ice on Monday evening, the New York Rangers decided to shake up the roster by calling up forward Gabriel Perreault from the AHL's Hartford Wolf Pack.
He had a productive start to the season in Hartford, scoring five goals with five assists in just nine games, and Rangers head coach Mike Sullivan would explain prior to Monday's game that it was Perreault's performance that helped him earn the call-up.
“We want to try to put players in positions to succeed,” Sullivan explained via Vince Z. Mercogliano on X. “Ideally, we were trying to give Gabe some time down there to build and develop his game, physically and otherwise, in the hopes that when he does get called to New York, he has the ability to be successful. I obviously talked to Chris (Drury) after the game the other night (and) yesterday when the decision was made. A lot of it's based on Gabe's own performance down there, and what we think the needs of the Rangers are here at this particular point in time.”
Sullivan has helped the Rangers pick up an elite record on the road so far in his first season behind their bench, as they currently are 7-1-1 away from home ice. The Rangers' home record, however, still leaves plenty to be desired.
The Rangers picked up a rare home victory on Monday
New York welcomed back veteran forward Vincent Trocheck into the lineup on Monday evening against the visiting Nashville Predators after he had missed the last 14 games due to injury and recorded his first multi-point game of the season in what was ultimately a 6-3 victory for the Rangers over Nashville.
Artemi Panarin scored twice as part of the win, which halted a franchise-record losing streak at Madison Square Garden. During that stretch of time, the Rangers had shockingly been denied a single goal a whopping five times.
Perrault picked up an assist while skating in 14:08 of ice time for the Rangers.
