Shesterkin Scores as Rangers Rout Lightning 5-1 in Home Opener
New York spoiled Tampa Bay's season opener at Madison Square Garden — and Igor Shesterkin capped it with a rare goalie goal.
A 5-1 scoreline rarely needs a footnote, but this one does: Igor Shesterkin stopped 24 shots and then, with around two minutes left, fired the puck the length of the ice into Tampa Bay's empty net. According to Blueshirt Banter, that made him the first goaltender in Rangers history to score a goal — a fitting exclamation point on a night New York controlled from the start.
How it unfolded
The Rangers, bouncing back from a season-opening loss to Boston, struck twice in the first period: Mika Zibanejad on the power play and Pavel Dorofeyev at even strength, the latter's first goal as a Ranger. The second period brought two more — Eeli Tolvanen, also scoring his first in a Rangers sweater, and Gabe Perreault — before Nikita Kucherov finally got Tampa Bay on the board, set up by Ilya Mikheyev and Brayden Point.
That was all the Lightning managed. Andrei Vasilevskiy made 20 saves behind a team that generated chances — shots finished even at 25-25 — but couldn't solve Shesterkin when it mattered. New York's penalty kill was perfect on the night, and the special-teams edge was the quiet difference underneath the loud scoreline.
What it means
For the Rangers, this is the response they wanted after a flat opener: four different skaters scored, two of them new arrivals announcing themselves, and their franchise goaltender looked sharp at both ends of the ice. For Tampa Bay, a 5-1 loss in the season opener is a data point, not a verdict — but getting just one goal past a locked-in Shesterkin despite even shot totals points to a finishing problem the Lightning will want to fix fast — starting with Saturday's home opener against Washington.