The New York Rangers annihilated the Pittsburgh Penguins 6-0 in their season opener on Wednesday night at PPG Paints Arena.
Ranger goaltender, Igor Shesterkin, made 29 saves and became the first Ranger goaltender since Gump Worsley in 1956 to earn a shutout in his team’s season opener.
The Blueshirts got the scoring started just over two minutes inside the first period when Sam Carrick tipped in Ranger captain Jacob Trouba’s wrister from the point. At 17:23 gone by in the first period, Alexis Lafreniere made it two with a nifty toe-drag into shot that beat Penguins goaltender, Tristan Jarry through the legs. That goal was assisted by Artemi Panarin.
Things started to get away from the Penguins when the Rangers added a third goal with 11 seconds remaining in the first period. This time the Rangers sustained pressure on the Penguins in the offensive zone until Chris Kreider was able to wrist in a rebound from the slot.
The Rangers made it 4-0 halfway through the third period when Filip Chytil followed up the play and picked up a loose puck left behind by teammate Will Cuylle. Chytil wasted no time snapping home a shot into the upper left corner of the net. Chytil is off to a good start after he missed 72 games last season due to concussions.
The Rangers scored their fifth goal with Chris Kreider’s second goal of the game on a breakaway, halfway through the third period.
With the game thoroughly out of reach, the Rangers tacked on a sixth goal when Vincent Trocheck wristed in a shot from in front of the net.
From start to finish, the Rangers were the better team and putting up six goals on the road is no easy feat. For his two-goal performance, Chris Kreider was named first star of the game while Igor Shesterkin was named second star for earning a shutout and making 29 saves. Alexis Lafreniere had a goal and an assist and was named the third star.
The Rangers’ next game is against the Utah Hockey club, who also won their season opener. That game is scheduled for this saturday Oct. 12 at 5:00 p.m.
