Rangers beat Lightning 5-1 as Shesterkin scores empty-net goal in home opener
Rangers goalie Igor Shesterkin scored the first goal by a Rangers goalie, capping a 5-1 win over the Lightning.
What we know
- The New York Rangers beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 5-1 at Madison Square Garden on Thursday night. [1] [2]
- Rangers goalie Igor Shesterkin made 24 saves on 25 shots and was named the game's first star. [1] [2]
- Shesterkin scored into an empty net with 2:34 left, according to The Associated Press. [2]
- Mika Zibanejad had a goal and two points, and Adam Fox had two assists. [1]
The New York Rangers beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 5-1 on Thursday night in their home opener at Madison Square Garden. It was the Rangers' first game back after a 3-0 road loss at Boston on Tuesday, according to The Associated Press. [1][2]
Rangers goalie Igor Shesterkin made 24 saves on 25 shots and was named the game's first star. Shesterkin also lofted the puck down the ice into an empty net with 2:34 remaining, according to the AP. The AP said it was the first goal by a Rangers goalie and made Shesterkin the 18th goalie in NHL history to score. [1][2]
Mika Zibanejad scored and finished with two points, and was named the third star. Adam Fox had two assists. Pavel Dorofeyev, named the second star, and Eeli Tolvanen each scored for the first time with the Rangers, and Gabe Perreault deflected in a Fox shot, the AP reported. [1][2]
The game turned early. The Rangers drew a penalty, and Zibanejad scored on the power play less than six minutes in, according to the AP. The Rangers had four goals on 24 shots against Lightning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy. [1][2]
The early goal also mattered because of last season. According to the AP, the Rangers were shut out in their first three home games of 2025-26, the first team in league history to have that happen.
Tampa Bay's only goal came from Nikita Kucherov in the second period, according to the box score. The AP said the shot banked in off the right skate of Rangers center Noah Laba. Brayden Point had the assist. [1][2]
The Lightning host Washington in their home opener Saturday. The Rangers play at Detroit on Friday. The AP reported that backup goalie Joonas Korpisalo is injured and that Dylan Garand appears in line to start. [2]