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
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.
asserted
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.
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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.
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Rangers → go → horn
They became the first team in league history to get shut out in the first three home games of a season.
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They → become → season
The crowd at this home opener didn’t even have much of a chance to get nervous.
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crowd → have → chance
Coming off getting blanked 3-0 on the road Tuesday night at Boston, New York was the aggressor early.
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York → come → Boston
Drawing a penalty paved the way for Zibanejad to score on the power play.
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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!”
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Igor → stop → chants
Matthew Knies had two goals and an assist in his Columbus debut and the Blue Jackets beat Buffalo for their first season-opening victory in five years.
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Jackets → have → years
Cole Sillinger, Adam Fantilli, Sean Monahan and Mathieu Olivier also scored, and Charlie Coyle added three assists.
asserted
Coyle → score → assists
Reigning Norris Trophy winner Zach Werenski had two assists, and Jet Greaves stopped 23 shots.
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Greaves → reign → shots
Knies, acquired from Toronto on Monday, became the first Columbus player to score twice in his Blue Jackets debut.
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Knies → acquire → debut
The three points tied the franchise record for a debut set by Artemi Panarin, who had three assists in 2017.
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who → tie → 2017
Mattias Samuelsson, Jack Quinn and Konsta Helenius scored for Buffalo, and Noah Ostlund and Owen Power each had two assists.
asserted
Ostlund → score → assists
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen stopped 16 shots.
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Luukkonen → stop → shots
Jack Hughes scored with 1:37 left in overtime to lift New Jersey to a win over Philadelphia.
asserted
Hughes → score → Philadelphia
Hughes scored on a wrist shot with an assist from Jesper Bratt in New Jersey’s home opener.
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Hughes → score → opener
Hughes, who led Team USA to the gold medal at the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics last winter, led New Jersey with 77 points last season and ranked second with 27 goals despite missing 21 games with a hand injury.
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who → lead → injury
The Devils went 8-13-0 without Hughes, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2019 draft.
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Devils → go → draft
His brother Luke tied the game at 2-all with a snapshot at 9:44 of the third period from Luke Evangelista.
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brother → tie → Evangelista
Joseph Woll, who was acquired in an offseason trade with Toronto, stopped 41 shots for Philadelphia.
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who → acquire → Philadelphia
Jake Allen made 23 saves for the Devils.
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Allen → make → Devils
All four goals in regulation were scored by defensemen.
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goals → score → defensemen
The Flyers, who suffered a 7-0 home loss to Pittsburgh on Wednesday night, got goals from Travis Sanheim and Rasmus Ristolainen.
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who → suffer → Sanheim
WILD 3, PREDATORS 1
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Nick Foligno and Blake Coleman scored first-period goals, and Minnesota beat Nashville in the season opener for both teams.
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Minnesota → score → teams
The Wild lost in the second round of the Western Conference playoffs last spring in five games to Colorado.
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Wild → lose → Colorado
After giving coach John Hynes a contract extension last month, Minnesota is targeting a third straight postseason berth.
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Minnesota → give → berth
Kirill Kaprizov also had a goal for Minnesota, which is playing 21 of its first 31 games on the road this season.
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which → have → road
Jesper Wallstedt made 19 saves.
asserted
Wallstedt → make → saves
Roman Josi scored for Nashville, which went 0 of 4 with the man advantage.
asserted
which → score → advantage
Filip Forsberg matched an NHL record with an assist on Josi’s goal, giving him at least a point in 11 straight season openers.
asserted
Forsberg → match → openers
Forsberg now has 15 points in 11 openers, tying the mark held by Viktor Kozlov (1997-98, 2008-09) and Vincent Lecavalier (2002-03 and 2013-14).
asserted
Forsberg → have → Kozlov
Dylan Guenther scored two power-play goals, Karel Vejmelka made 15 saves and Utah opened the season with a win over Chicago.
asserted
Utah → score → Chicago
Clayton Keller assisted on both power-play goals.
asserted
Keller → assist → goals
Michael Carcone, Nick Schmaltz, Anders Lee and Daniil But also scored to help the Mammoth beat the Blackhawks in a season opener for the second time in three seasons.
asserted
Mammoth → score → seasons
Chicago generated only nine shots on goal over the first two periods.
asserted
Chicago → generate → periods
…and 42 more, not listed.
The Aporia
