Adam Fox netted the go-ahead goal, and Igor Shesterkin made 31 saves as the New York Rangers defeated the expansion Seattle Kraken 3-1 on Sunday night.
The Rangers overcame a sluggish stretch to secure their franchise-record fifth road win in October, improving to 6-2-1. It’s the most road victories New York has recorded in the first nine games of a season, largely thanks to Shesterkin’s impressive goaltending.
“It’s pretty repetitive when we talk about it,” Fox said. “We can sing his praises for days. He keeps us in every game; you never feel like you’re out of it. It’s a tie game, and he keeps it that way.”
Chris Kreider and Barclay Goodrow also scored for the Rangers. Kreider made history with his goal at 3:38 in the first period, tying Phil Esposito for 15th-most goals in franchise history with 184.
Jordan Eberle scored for the Kraken, while Philipp Grubauer made 14 saves. Seattle dropped to 3-5-1 with the loss.
Goodrow set up Kreider’s goal with a cross-ice pass off the boards, allowing Kreider to fire a slapshot past Grubauer from 34 feet out. It was Goodrow’s first assist of the season.
Seattle responded by increasing the pressure, but Shesterkin stood tall, ignoring multiple opportunities as his team struggled. The Kraken outshot the Rangers 13-2 in the second period and dominated faceoffs, winning 15 of 18. At one point, Shesterkin had to stop three consecutive shots after losing his stick behind the net.
Eberle finally broke through with a crafty shot to tie the game late in the second period. He took a tricky pass off the boards from Jaden Schwartz and surprised Shesterkin with a spinning backhander with 6:14 left in the period.
That goal ended a streak of more than 95 minutes without Shesterkin allowing a goal.
The Russian goalie, who speaks limited English, said his focus on the puck helped him, even without a stick.
“I faced some tough shots, but every time I saw the puck, it was easy for me,” Shesterkin said.
Fox scored the decisive goal from the slot with eight minutes left in the third period, thanks to a centering pass from Artemi Panarin. Goodrow added an empty-netter, his third goal of the season, with about two minutes remaining.
Despite outshooting New York 32-18, the Kraken saw their two-game win streak snapped. However, the team felt they progressed, finishing 2-2 during their first homestand.
“I think everybody’s heading in the right direction,” Grubauer said. “In the first couple of games, everybody came from different systems. … We’ve now played a lot of minutes together, and there’s a standard we have to meet every game, maybe even set the bar higher. Everything’s coming together.”
Game Notes
Rangers coach Gerard Gallant scratched D Nils Lundkvist from the lineup without explanation, saying only, “We just thought we’d dress what we thought was the 20 best players.” F Max McCormick, recalled Saturday from Charlotte of the AHL after Seattle placed F Mason Appleton on injured reserve, played his first shifts for the Kraken on Sunday. He was called into action after F Jared McCann and assistant coach Paul McFarland entered COVID-19 protocol. Kreider has scored goals in three straight Halloween games.
UP NEXT
- Rangers: At Vancouver on Tuesday night.
- Kraken: At Edmonton on Monday night.
