The Aporia · Igor Shesterkin becomes first Rangers goalie to score in 5-1 win over Lightning in home opener

Igor Shesterkin becomes first Rangers goalie to score in 5-1 win over Lightning in home opener

Read the original at Toronto Star ↗

Cite

APA MLA Chicago

Whyno, S. (2026, October 2). Igor Shesterkin becomes first Rangers goalie to score in 5-1 win over Lightning in home opener. Toronto Star. https://www.thestar.com/sports/hockey/igor-shesterkin-becomes-first-rangers-goalie-to-score-in-5-1-win-over-lightning-in-home-opener/article_a69e6810-41ca-5478-8839-d8c8363cfbc8.html

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

Quick Summary

In the New York Rangers' home opener against the Tampa Bay Lightning, Igor Shesterkin made history by becoming the first Rangers goalie to score a goal when he lofted the puck into an empty net late in the game, contributing to a 5-1 victory for his team. The Rangers scored early and often, with goals from Mika Zibanejad, Pavel Dorofeyev, Eeli Tolvanen, and Gabe Perreault, while Shesterkin made 24 saves against Andrei Vasilevskiy, who allowed four goals on 25 shots faced. The article highlights Shesterkin's achievement as part of the Rangers' strong offensive performance and their contrast to last season's struggles in scoring during home games.

Written by AI on 2026-10-02, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

On Thursday night, Igor Shesterkin became the first New York Rangers goaltender in franchise history to score a goal when he lofted the puck into an empty net late in a 5-1 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning. With just 2:34 left in the game, Shesterkin's shot three-hopped into the middle of the net after bouncing off the end boards. The team celebrated with chants and congratulations from teammates on the bench. This marked Shesterkin’s first career goal and the 18th by an NHL goaltender overall, making him part of a rare club in hockey history. Additionally, it was a significant turnaround for the Rangers who struggled to score at home last season, being shut out in their first three games there.

Written for “Shesterkin Scores Goal” on 2026-10-31, grounded in this article and the 5 other(s) covering the same event.

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 0% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.

NHL scores: Shesterkin makes Rangers history with a goalie goal in 5-1 win over Lightning Same event

Toronto Star

Hedges 0 of 82 claims Outlet record 64/100

Rangers netminder Igor Shesterkin scores first goalie goal in franchise history Same event

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Hedges 0 of 5 claims Outlet record 66/100

Igor Shesterkin becomes the 18th NHL goaltender to score a goal and first to do it for the Rangers Same event

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Rangers exorcise last year’s MSG demons with resounding home-opener win over Lightning Same event

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Dylan Garand makes 22 saves for 1st career shutout as Rangers beat Red Wings 2-0 Different event

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“The articles describe different games played on consecutive days, not the same incident.”

Shesterkin, Bouchard, Cotter named NHL's three stars of the week Different event

Toronto Star

Hedges 0 of 8 claims Outlet record 64/100

“Article A describes Shesterkin's goal-scoring incident during a single game, while Article B refers to Shesterkin being named NHL's first star of the week for his performance across multiple games including that one.”

How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

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Claims extracted

sentences that state something as happening or true

Uncertain

0 of 14 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")

Leaning

not political

takes no side on a contested political question

Publisher signals

64/100

Toronto Star's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.

Outlets on this story

Sports

Same framing elsewhere

articles that frame the event the way this one does

Analyzed 2026-10-02 · how these are computed

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Publisher

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Who wrote this

Stephen Whyno

41 article(s) here · 0 carrying a prediction

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2026-10-30 · assertive framing · Nikita Kucherov tells Lightning he won't re-sign and asks for a trade, AP source says

🔮 NEW YORK (AP) — NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said Wednesday he has a high comfort level in the New Orleans Saints and Pittsburgh Steelers safely playing in Paris on Sunday in light of the civil unrest that could include more protests this weekend in the capital and elsewhere around France.

2026-10-21 · assertive framing · Roger Goodell is comfortable with security for the NFL's Paris game between the Steelers and Saints

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2026-10-21 · assertive framing · NFL commissioner says league welcomes review of how Philadelphia Eagles handled Jalen Hurts' blood clots

🔮 Up next Ducks: Lukas Dostal is expected to start in net for the second half of their New York back-to-back set, Tuesday night at the Islanders.

2026-10-20 · assertive framing · Rangers beat the Ducks 5-2 to improve to 6-0-0 at home to start the season

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2026-10-13 · assertive framing · Ball security is an issue for the Giants after fumbling away their chances at Washington

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2026-10-13 · assertive framing · Tim Stützle helps Senators dump Devils 4-1 to keep hot start going

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2026-10-08 · assertive framing · Yankees swept out of the AL Division Series by the Rays, extending their title drought to 17 years

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2026-10-07 · assertive framing · Giants return specialist Braxton Berrios says he is having season-ending surgery

🔮 Lane is expected to miss the rest of the season.

2026-10-05 · mixed framing · Commanders receiver Jaylin Lane has a fractured and dislocated left ankle, AP source says

Also by Stephen Whyno

Nikita Kucherov tells Lightning he won't re-sign and asks for a trade, AP source says

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2026-10-21 · Toronto Star

Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.

All 41 articles by Stephen Whyno →

Topics

NEW YORK NHL New York Rangers Rangers the Tampa Bay Lightning

Subjects

Rangers ORG · 5× Shesterkin PERSON · 3× Igor PERSON · 2× NEW YORK GPE · 2× Eeli Tolvanen PERSON · 1× Igor Shesterkin PERSON · 1× Mika Zibanejad PERSON · 1× New York Rangers ORG · 1× Pavel Dorofeyev PERSON · 1× the Tampa Bay Lightning ORG · 1×

Narrative

A year after failing to score in their first three home games last season, the Rangers wasted little time preventing a repeat performance, getting a goal from Mika Zibanejad less than six minutes into their Madison Square Garden opener.

framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-02

2026-10-02 · Toronto Star

Igor Shesterkin becomes first Rangers goalie to score in 5-1 win over Lightning in home opener · assertive framing

Claims (14 extracted, 0 hedged)

Igor Shesterkin became the first New York Rangers goalie to score when he lofted the puck the length of the ice into an empty net, capping a 5-1 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday night. asserted

he → become → night

Rangers → fail → opener

Pavel Dorofeyev and Eeli Tolvanen each scored his first goal with his new team, and top prospect-turned-important contributor Gabe Perreault deflected in a shot by No. 1 defenseman Adam Fox. asserted

prospect → score → Fox

Shesterkin scored with 2:34 remaining, becoming the 18th goalie in NHL history with a goal. asserted

Shesterkin → score → goal

The first of his career was the 21st by a player at the position, counting the playoffs. asserted

first → count → playoffs

It was a far cry from the nightmare start at MSG in October 2025, when the Rangers went nearly 181 minutes before setting off the goal horn there. asserted

Rangers → go → horn

They became the first team in league history to get shut out in the first three home games of a season. asserted

They → become → season

The crowd at this home opener didn’t even have much of a chance to get nervous. asserted

crowd → have → chance

Coming off getting blanked 3-0 on the road Tuesday night at Boston, New York was the aggressor early. asserted

York → come → Boston

Drawing a penalty paved the way for Zibanejad to score on the power play. asserted

Zibanejad → draw → play

The offensive outburst allowed the Rangers to put up four goals on 24 shots against two-time Vezina Trophy- and Stanley Cup-winning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy. asserted

Rangers → allow → Vasilevskiy

In a matchup of two of the best at the position in the world, Shesterkin stopped 24 of the 25 shots he faced, leading to chants of “Igor’s better!” asserted

Igor → stop → chants

The only goal Shesterkin gave up was to Nikita Kucherov, the reigning MVP who banked the puck in off the right skate of Rangers center Noah Laba. More “Igor!” chants followed his goal. asserted

chants → give → goal

Rangers: With backup goalie Joonas Korpisalo injured, Dylan Garand appears in line to start Friday night at Detroit. asserted

Garand → injure → Detroit