Igor Shesterkin scores historic goal as Rangers roll past Lightning

Shesterkin’s rare goalie goal caps convincing Rangers victory

The New York Rangers treated their home crowd to a memorable night on Thursday, defeating the Tampa Bay Lightning 5-1 as Igor Shesterkin delivered both a standout goaltending performance and a piece of franchise history. The Russian netminder stopped 24 shots and added an empty-net goal late in the third period, becoming the first goaltender in Rangers history to be credited with a goal.

With just over two minutes remaining and the Lightning net empty, Shesterkin cleared the puck from his own end and watched it travel the length of the ice into the vacated cage. The goal punctuated a strong bounce-back effort for New York after being shut out 3-0 by the Boston Bruins in their season opener earlier in the week.

Offensively, Pavel Dorofeyev and Mika Zibanejad each recorded a goal and an assist, while Eeli Tolvanen and Gabe Perreault supplied the other markers for the Rangers. Adam Fox chipped in two assists. Nikita Kucherov scored the lone goal for Tampa Bay, and Andrei Vasilevskiy finished with 20 saves. Lightning captain Victor Hedman played his first official NHL game since stepping away in March to focus on his mental health, logging 17:45 without hitting the scoresheet.

Jack Hughes hands Devils overtime win in season opener

In Newark, Jack Hughes delivered the decisive blow in overtime as the New Jersey Devils edged the Philadelphia Flyers 3-2 in their first game of the season. Hughes carried the puck through much of the ice surface before executing a quick give-and-go with Jesper Bratt, burying the return feed 3:23 into the extra frame.

Earlier, Luke Hughes had tied the game in the third period to force overtime, while Dougie Hamilton scored the other New Jersey goal. Goaltender Jake Allen made 23 saves and faced plenty of rubber as both Bratt and Hamilton registered six shots on target. For Philadelphia, Rasmus Ristolainen and Travis Sanheim supplied the offence, and Joseph Woll was busy in net with 44 shots against.

Knies shines in Columbus debut as Wild extend opening-night streak

In Columbus, Matthew Knies wasted no time making an impression in his first game with the Blue Jackets, leading them to a 6-3 win over the Buffalo Sabres. Acquired earlier in the week from the Toronto Maple Leafs in a deal for forward Kirill Marchenko, Knies scored twice and added an assist. Cole Sillinger, Adam Fantilli, Sean Monahan and Mathieu Olivier also found the back of the net for Columbus.

Charlie Coyle paced the attack with three assists, Zach Werenski added two more helpers, and Jet Greaves stopped 23 shots in goal. Buffalo replied with goals from Mattias Samuelson, Jack Quinn and Konsta Helenius. Noah Ostlund, who recently signed an eight-year contract extension, and Owen Power each contributed two assists, while Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen turned aside 17 shots.

In Minnesota, the Wild struck twice in a span of 4:13 in the first period and rode that early push to a 3-1 victory over the Nashville Predators. Nick Foligno opened the scoring by capitalizing on a long rebound from a Michael McCarron shot, and Blake Coleman doubled the lead on the power play after taking a feed from Bobby Brink. Roman Josi answered in the second period, but Kirill Kaprizov restored the two-goal cushion early in the third. Jesper Wallstedt made 19 saves as the Wild won their season opener for a fourth straight year, while Juuse Saros stopped 27 shots for Nashville.