The New York Rangers picked up an impressive victory in their home opener against the Tampa Bay Lightning, winning 5-1 on Thursday night. It was a relief to see the team get off to such a strong start at Madison Square Garden after the disastrous beginning they endured during the 2025-26 season.
Seven New York Rangers prospects will play in the NCAA this season, and the group breaks cleanly in three separate tiers of what expectations are for each player.
The New York Rangers were able to exorcise some demons in their home opener at Madison Square Garden, defeating the Tampa Bay Lightning in dominant fashion, 5-1.
We’re just days into the NHL’s 2026-27 season, and we have already seen one of hockey’s rarest feats. New York Rangers goaltender Igor Shesterkin scored a goal near the end of Thursday’s game against the Tampa Bay Lightning, becoming the first netminder in Rangers history to score and just the 18th goalie in NHL history to do it.
On Wednesday night, I recorded Episode 33 of Blue Seats After Dark as a free preview for all. I talked the Rangers final roster and their potential, the Dylan Garand mess (before the Joonas Korpisalo injury), and Braden Schneider’s situation with the Rangers.
The NHL has had an interesting new millennium. It was a league sans a salary cap when the 2000s started… and then the owners locked the players out for an entire season.
The New York Rangers knew that they could not afford to get off to the kind of start at Madison Square Garden during the 2026-27 campaign as they did last season.
New York Rangers goaltender Igor Shesterkin made history on Thursday night, scoring the first goal by a netminder in franchise history during a 5-1 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning at Madison Square Garden.
What a dichotomy of emotions the last 48 hours. From the slop of opening night in Boston, to pure euphoria and good vibes from the home opener as the Rangers beat the Lightning 5-1.
That must’ve been a pretty fun plane ride the New York Rangers took to Detroit after exiting Madison Square Garden with a thoroughly convincing 5-1 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning in their home opener Thursday night.
Last year, it took the New York Rangers over 180 minutes to score a goal at Madison Square Garden. For the 2026-27 NHL season, this was certainly not the case.
For a century of New York Rangers hockey, no goaltender had scored. On Thursday night at Madison Square Garden, Igor Shesterkin ended that drought. With Tampa Bay’s net empty and 2:34 left, Shesterkin lofted a shot from just above his crease the length of the ice and inside the left post.
People will talk about the “Mount Rushmore” for a franchise, which is to say the four people, usually four players, that most define the franchise. Not always the four-best players, but the four that evoke the essence of the franchise.
Talk about putting an exclamation point on the New York Rangers impressive 5-1 victory in their home opener against the Tampa Bay Lightning. How about Igor Shesterkin scoring the first goalie goal in 101 years of Rangers hockey?
New York Rangers goaltender Igor Shesterkin scored the first goal of his NHL career in the third period of Thursday’s game against the Tampa Bay Lightning at Madison Square Garden.
While he didn’t begin the season on the NHL roster, goaltender Dylan Garand has landed with the New York Rangers before their second game. He has been recalled to backup starter Igor Shesterkin.
Not ideal news for a team looking to have a better performance this season. On Thursday, the New York Rangers placed goaltender Joonas Korpisalo on injured reserve.
The New York Rangers made key changes to their roster this offseason, including trading for goalie Joonas Korpisalo to back up star Igor Shesterkin after veteran backup Jonathan Quick retired.
There is no place for the New York Rangers to go but up as they open their home schedule against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday night. Tuesday's contest against the host Boston Bruins looked a lot like the season opener last year for a New York club that finished last in the Eastern Conference.
The New York Rangers have made one more roster decision before opening night. Defenseman Vincent Iorio has been placed on waivers per PuckPedia. He becomes the odd-man-out in a race with Matthew Robertson and Scott Morrow for New Yorks’ extra defender roles.
The New York Rangers begin the 2026-27 season tonight, when they head to Boston to take on the Bruins. After two straight disastrous seasons that led to major shakeups to the roster, the team is hoping this season will see luck turn in their favor.