Zibanejad scores twice as Rangers top Flames 3-1 for fourth win in five games

CALGARY — Mika Zibanejad scored twice in the second period on Wednesday to lead the New York Rangers to a 3-1 victory over the Calgary Flames.

Tye Kartye, into an empty net, also scored for New York (11-8-1). The Rangers have won four of their last five.

Adam Klapka had the lone goal for Calgary (8-10-1), which finished 1-2-0 on its three-game homestand.

Getting the start for New York, Joonas Korpisalo had 30 stops to improve to 2-0-0.

The 32-year-old was activated from injured reserve on Friday after missing the first six weeks of the season with a lower-body injury.

Saddled with the loss was Devin Cooley, who had 21 saves. He fell to 5-4-0 while his five-game home winning streak was halted.

The first period was scoreless although Calgary defenceman Zayne Parekh nearly scored one of the goals of the year. Instead, Korpisalo’s desperation stop will go down as one of the saves of the year.

Carrying the puck in the Rangers zone, Parekh stepped around Eeli Tolvanen then dipsy doodled through Glenn Gawdin. As he darted toward the Rangers net, Parekh instead cut right and darted behind the net but his wraparound attempt was denied when Korpisalo, abandoning his goal stick, dove across the crease and stopped the puck on the line with the open hand of his blocker.

Zibanejad gave the Rangers the lead for good, scoring the first goal of the game 59 seconds into the second period.

Takeaways

Rangers: Gawdin, 29, who broke into the NHL with the Flames, made his New Yotk debut at fourth-line centre. It was his 14th NHL game and first since March 6, 2024.

Flames: Former Ranger and 2021 first-rounder Brennan Othmann (upper body) returned to the lineup after missing six games. Defenceman Jake Middleton played his 400th NHL game.

Key Moment

Halfway through the second period, the Rangers needed just 13 seconds on the power-play to increase their lead to 2-0. Zibanejad sizzled a one-timer past Cooley after being setup on a cross-ice pass from Pavel Dorofeyev. It would be the eventual game-winner.

Key Stat

The Rangers moved into a tie for first in the NHL with 11 wins when scoring the first goal of the game. Tied with New York (11-1-0) are Carolina (11-1-0), Edmonton (11-0-2) and Minnesota (11-0-4).

Up Next

Rangers: Visit the Vancouver Canucks on Friday.

Flames: Open a three-game road trip on Saturday against the Los Angeles Kings.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 11, 2026.

Darren Haynes, The Canadian Press