Trocheck returns to MSG as Mammoth and Rangers brawl

Trocheck spent the morning trying to convince everyone, himself included, that this was just another road game. Asked if he'd ever thought he might stay a Ranger, he gave the most honest answer you'll get from a guy who saw the trade coming for a year:

Mollie Walker

@MollieeWalkerr

Asked Vincent Trocheck if he thought there was any chance he’d return to #NYR this season: “It was a roller coaster, but I think last year going into the trade deadline, being pretty positive that it was going to happen, and then it not. It was a little bit odd. Like it just felt weird. Going back to a team that, you know, felt like I was already out the door. And then going into the offseason, it was, I think again, pretty evident that it was going to happen. So it's all over now. I'm part of the Mammoth, and I'm happy to be here.”

That's the backstory. New York shopped him hard at last season's deadline, didn't pull the trigger, then finally did it on July 1, sending him to Utah for defenseman Sean Durzi, forward Cole Beaudoin and a 2027 3rd-round pick. He leaves with 253 points in 313 games as a Ranger, including 53 points in 67 games last season. He also didn't make the trip alone. Ex-Islanders captain Anders Lee is Utah's other New York import, and the 2 of them apparently spent the bus ride in from the previous night's game in disbelief.

Andrew Gross

@AGrossNewsday

Ex-#Isles Anders Lee, in town to play #NYR tonight: “Troch (Vincent Trocheck) and I on the bus last night were like, “We can’t believe we’re back in the city already.”

The Garden made it easy on him. There were Trocheck jerseys all over the building, and when he got out for warmups he didn't make it far before his old teammates came over to center ice to say hello.

Cole Bagley

@BagleyKSLsports

Vincent Trocheck makes his return to MSG. Immediately greeted by some of his former teammates. #TusksUp #NYR t.co/CM6Uzz9aCL

Then came the welcome, hockey style. Trocheck started at center for Utah, and early on Durzi, the main piece New York got for him, caught him with an open-ice hit that left him down on the ice for a second. A few minutes later the Rangers played his tribute video and the building gave him his moment.

Vince Z. Mercogliano

@vzmercogliano

Trocheck gets his welcome back tribute t.co/R9fk9ciV2s

Things stopped being friendly late in the 1st. Vladislav Gavrikov sent a low wrister from the top of the zone through traffic and past Karel Vejmelka, the 1st goal Vejmelka had allowed all season. Nobody waited for the next faceoff to finish. Noah Laba got dumped right off the draw, Cuylle lost it, and every Ranger on the ice piled in. Barrett Hayton and Cuylle went to the box, and when Schmaltz added a cross-check, New York got a 4-on-3 for 1:16.

Spittin' Chiclets

@spittinchiclets

Classic case of puck drop, gloves drop.

New York didn't score on the 4-on-3 and took a 1-0 lead into intermission in a period that was pretty even, with Utah outshooting the Rangers 6-5. Igor Shesterkin made sure it stayed that way well into the 2nd, turning away Utah's best chances one after another while the Rangers' forecheck kept the Mammoth hemmed in.

Then came the play that'll get talked about tomorrow. Guenther went head first into the boards while Cuylle was finishing a hit, and Utah went after Cuylle immediately. Lee was right in the middle of it.

Mollie Walker

@MollieeWalkerr

Dylan Guenther goes head first into the boards and is crunched by #NYR Will Cuylle. A big scrum ensues. Anders Lee heavily involved, so was Braden Schneider.

How dirty it was depends on who you ask. From the Rangers' side, Guenther was already bent over and Cuylle had committed to the hit. Utah's people called it a hit from behind that deserved way more than a minor. Either way, Guenther appeared to be OK, and you can make up your own mind from the replay.

Spittin' Chiclets

@spittinchiclets

Dylan Guenther gets crumpled from behind and the Mammoth wasted no time taking action 💥🦣

Cuylle got a double minor, and Utah needed only part of it. Schmaltz scored his latest power-play goal of this young season, the 1st goal New York's penalty kill has allowed this year.

Vince Z. Mercogliano

@vzmercogliano

Following a double minor on Cuylle (and a pretty big scrum) that resulted in a Mammoth PP, Nick Schmaltz cleaned up a rebound in front to tie this one at 1-1 with 5:33 left in the second.

So it was 1-1 with 5:33 left in the 2nd, and Utah nearly gave the lead right back when a puck slid behind Vejmelka before John Marino cleared it off the line. Trocheck asked for a quiet return and got a brawl, a hit he'll hear about all week and a tie game, with a Cuylle hit on Guenther that the league might want to look at. Lee gets his own trip back to New York on Feb. 15, when Utah plays at the Islanders.