Alexis Lafreniere's Hat Trick Pushed the Rangers to Four Straight Wins, and Two of the Goals Came Into an Empty Net

Alexis Lafreniere scored three goals on three shots and added an assist Tuesday as the New York Rangers beat the Islanders 5-2 at Madison Square Garden for their fourth straight win. It was the third hat trick of his career and, notably, his first goal of the season.

The Rangers are now 4-1-0 and 3-0-0 at home, their best home start since 2009-10. For fantasy managers, the headline number needs context: two of Lafreniere's three goals went into an empty net in the final two minutes. The real signal is the role that put him on the ice for those goals, and the line he has played on since the second half of last season.

How the Night Unfolded

The Rangers did not land a shot on goal until almost seven minutes into the game, but Oliver Bjorkstrand opened the scoring and Lafreniere made it 2-0 just 25 seconds into the second period. Mika Zibanejad sent a stretch pass out of the defensive zone into the neutral zone, and Lafreniere finished with a far-side shot. The Islanders answered with goals from Bo Horvat and Calum Ritchie to tie it 2-2 before Bjorkstrand scored on the power play at 17:07 of the second for the eventual winner.

Lafreniere then iced it with empty-net goals at 18:22 and 18:54 of the third period, 32 seconds apart. Zibanejad and Vladislav Gavrikov each had two assists, and Igor Shesterkin made 17 saves.

Why the Empty-Netters Still Matter

Empty-net goals are usually written off as noise, and on a per-game basis they are. But coach Mike Sullivan pointed out after the game that being on the ice six-on-five against is a responsibility and a privilege, and he is trusting Lafreniere with it. Coaches put their most reliable two-way players out in those situations. That is a usage note, and usage drives fantasy value more than any single box score.

Lafreniere has stayed on a line with Zibanejad and Gabe Perreault, the combination Sullivan kept together from late last season. On the power play, the Rangers rolled out a revamped first unit in camp with Lafreniere at the net front, the spot where he thrived late last season, alongside Adam Fox, Zibanejad, J.T. Miller in the bumper and Pavel Dorofeyev. Net-front work on a top unit produces the kind of tips and rebounds that keep a winger's goal total moving even in quiet stretches.

The Second-Half Breakout Is the Real Story

The best case for buying Lafreniere is what he did after New Year's last season. He finished 2025-26 with 24 goals and 33 assists for 57 points in 82 games, tying his career high, and tied for second on the team behind Zibanejad's 78 points. But the shape of that season matters. He had just 29 points (10 goals, 19 assists) in his first 55 games while the Rangers sank to the bottom of the Eastern Conference. Across the final 39 games of calendar year 2026, he produced 36 points (16 goals, 20 assists), close to a point-per-game pace.

That run carried into camp, where Sullivan talked about wanting Lafreniere to capture the momentum he built. A goalless opening week had started to raise the familiar questions about consistency for the former first overall pick. One night does not settle that debate, but it does mean drafters who passed on him in the middle rounds should check their waiver wire, and managers who rostered him should not panic over a slow week.

Fantasy Fallout

Lafreniere is a hold in all formats and an add in leagues where he was left on the wire after a quiet opening week. The profile to bet on is the one from the second half of last season: top-line minutes with Zibanejad, first-unit net-front power-play time and trusted defensive usage late in games. Expect regression from a 100 percent shooting night, but not from the role.

Bjorkstrand is the other name to watch. The Rangers signed him to a one-year, $4.5 million deal on July 1 after a down season in Tampa Bay (12 goals and 20 assists in 80 games) that followed four straight years of at least 20 goals. Two goals, including a power-play winner, is exactly the bounce-back sign his fantasy managers wanted. He is a speculative add in deeper leagues while the Rangers are scoring.

On the Islanders side, Semyon Varlamov made 19 saves on 22 shots in his first NHL game in 676 days after extensive rehabilitation from knee surgery. That is a feel-good return, but he is not a fantasy target until the Islanders show how they plan to split the net. Rookie center Cole Beaudoin, recalled from Hartford, played 9:57 in his NHL debut with three hits and a plus-1 rating, which makes him a deep-league hits play at most.

The Verdexed Angle

The Rangers missed the playoffs last season and ranked 23rd in goals per game at 2.87, so a 4-1-0 start with four straight wins is a real change in tone, at least early. The caution is in the underlying play: New York needed nearly seven minutes to register a shot Tuesday, and Shesterkin faced only 19 shots. Wins built on goaltending and opportunistic scoring can carry a team through October, but the market tends to overreact to winning streaks. Bettors should weigh the shot share, not the four-game run, when pricing Rangers games.

For fantasy, the more stable angle is the Zibanejad line. Zibanejad's assist total and Lafreniere's shot volume are the indicators to track, and both should benefit if the first power-play unit stays intact. Readers can follow the nightly outlook at /nhl/predictions and today's card at /blog/nhl-picks-2026-10-07.

What Comes Next

The Rangers host the Washington Capitals on Friday at 7 p.m. ET, a chance to push the winning streak to five at home. The Islanders, now 1-2-0, face the Chicago Blackhawks on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. ET.

The questions to answer over the next week are whether Lafreniere converts real chances at even strength and on the power play, not just empty nets, and whether the Zibanejad, Lafreniere and Perreault line keeps controlling its minutes. If both happen, the second-half version of Lafreniere is back, and he belongs in every fantasy lineup again.