Gilmour roofed a shot home for only his second career marker as the Rangers triumphed following a series of deals at and just before Monday's NHL trade deadline.
The Rangers jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first 12 1/2 minutes, but the Canucks responded with three unanswered goals and later overcame 4-3 and 5-4 deficits.
The visitors had three new players in their lineup following the trade deadline, while the Canucks had two.
Kevin Hayes led the new-look Rangers with two goals, while Vladislav Namestnikov, acquired in a trade from the Tampa Bay Lightning, recorded a goal and an assist. Jimmy Vesey and Mika Zibanejad also scored for the visitors.
Ryan Spooner, acquired by the Rangers from the Boston Bruins in the Rick Nash trade, earned three assists. Defenseman Neal Pionk also had two helpers for New York. Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist posted 50 saves as the Canucks outshot the Rangers 55-27.
Brock Boeser led the Canucks with two goals, while Daniel Sedin, Bo Horvat and Nikolay Goldobin also tallied for the Canucks. Horvat had two assists and Daniel Sedin had one. Brendan Leipsic, acquired Monday in a trade from Vegas, contributed two assists.
Spooner and Namestnikov impressed early as they assisted on New York's first two goals just 2:05 into the game.
After Spooner dumped the puck into Vancouver's zone, Hayes opened the scoring on a weak wraparound at 1:22. Namestnikov drew the second assist as Vesey deflected home a Pionk slap shot 43 seconds later.
Hayes scored his second goal by tipping in a Pionk wrist shot at 12:29. Spooner also assisted on that tally as he fed the puck to Pionk before the shot.
With New York on top 3-0, Vancouver starting goaltender Jacob Markstrom was replaced by Anders Nilsson. Markstrom finished with just two saves on five shots. Less than two minutes after the switch, Boeser converted a cross-ice pass from Horvat, reducing Vancouver's deficit to 3-1.
Horvat brought the Canucks within a goal with 48 seconds left in the first period as he put in Daniel Sedin's rebound during a power play.
Daniel Sedin created a 3-3 deadlock at 11:01 of the middle frame as he one-timed a pass from Henrik. However, Namestnikov restored the Rangers' lead with a breakaway goal about four minutes later.
Goldobin forged a 4-4 tie on a power play at 12:17 of the third period on a pass from Leipsic. However, a Goldobin giveaway enabled the Rangers to go ahead 5-4 on Zibanejad's goal 2 1/2 minutes later.
--Field Level Media
NY Rangers | Vancouver | |
Ryan Spooner 3 | Points | Bo Horvat 3 |
Kevin Hayes 2 | Goals | Brock Boeser 2 |
Ryan Spooner 3 | Assists | Bo Horvat 2 |
N/A | Power Play Goals | Bo Horvat 1 |
N/A | Short Handed Goals | N/A |
Henrik Lundqvist .909 | Save Percentage | Anders Nilsson .864 |
Henrik Lundqvist 50 | Saves | Anders Nilsson 19 |
Team | Shots | Goals | Power Play | Penalty Kill | Penalty Mins | Face Offs Won |
NY Rangers | 27 | 6 | 0-2 | 2-3 | 6 | 27 |
Vancouver | 55 | 5 | 1-3 | 2-2 | 4 | 38 |