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Key Rangers takeaways after brilliant Igor Shesterkin blanks Sabres 4-0
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- Key Rangers takeaways after brilliant Igor Shesterkin blanks Sabres 4-0
Timothy T. Ludwig-Imagn Images Timothy T. Ludwig-Imagn Images
Igor Shesterkin made 37 saves to lead the New York Rangers to their first victory of the 2025-26 season, a 4-0 shutout on the road against the Buffalo Sabres at KeyBank Center on Thurday.
It was Shesterkin's 22nd shutout in the NHL, and first against the Sabres . He tied for the League lead with six shutouts last season.
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"It's very good feeling to get the win," Shesterkin said postgame. "Our players played so good in front of me."
The owner of the richest contract for a goalie in NHL history , proved his worth already in the first two games this season. He stopped 27 of 28 shots in a 3-0 season-opening loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins at home on Tuesday, with the final two goals scored into an empty net.
Shesterkin was brilliant Thursday, especially in the second period when the Rangers (1-1-0) were out-shot 14-5. But he received a lot more help from his teammates in this one as opposed to their lackluster effort against the Penguins.
Despite playing much better Thursday, the Rangers leaned heavily on Shesterkin to maintain a 1-0 lead until they scored three times in the final five minutes to pull away. Soucy's short-side snipe made it 2-0 at 14:46, and Miller's deflection of Braden Schneider 's shot upped the advantage to 3-0 at 17:11.
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Fox scored into an empty net 14 seconds later to put a bow on New York's first win of its centennial season.
The Rangers stormed out of the gates in Buffalo on Thursday. Fully engaged, and playing a fast north-south game right from the first shift, the Rangers looked like a completely different team in the first period.
They fired 16 shots on goal in the opening 20 minutes and carried a 1-0 lead into the first intermission. Lafreniere scored New York's first goal of the season at 11:43 thanks to a combination of grit and skill. Parked to the side of Alex Lyon 's net, Lafreniere collected a loose puck from behind the goal line, fended off defenders to work it into the blue paint, then used his long reach to collect the puck again and slip it past the Sabres goalie.
The Sabres can thank Lyon that the deficit was just one goal after the first period. Starting in place of Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen , who's on injured reserve to start the season, Lyon was so sharp in the first that Rangers rookie Noah Laba threw his head back and stared up at the arena's ceiling in disbelief after he was stoned by the Sabres goalie.
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Lyon finished with 29 saves, including a huge pad stop on Adam Edstrom 's second-period breakaway following a Sabres turnover.
But Shesterkin was the better goalie Thursday, and also the luckier one. The 29-year-old was the beneficiary of two power-play shots by Buffalo that hit the post in the second period. The first was a left-wing howitzer from Tage Thompson , the other a Josh Doan deflection.
The Rangers were out-shot 12-11 in the third period, but Shesterkin was the difference as the visitors pulled away to give Mike Sullivan his first win as their coach.
One downer for the Rangers was that alternate captain Vincent Trocheck left the game midway through the second period and did not return with an upper-body injury. Sullivan didn't have an update on Trocheck's status after the game.
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Here are some other key takeaways from New York's 4-0 win in Buffalo.
1. That's more like it
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Though Sullivan pointed out that there's plenty of room for improvement, this was much more what the Rangers expect from themselves in terms of effort and execution. Miller's line set the tone with an energetic and physical shift to start the game. From there, the Rangers rolled four lines and owned the puck for most of the first period.
A fast start was badly needed after their disappointing performance Tuesday. And the Rangers delivered. They had a 10-5 advantage in scoring chances (3-1 in the high-danger variety) and an expected goal share of 69.95 percent 5v5 in the first period, per Natural Stat Trick . It was fitting that Lafreniere — who led them with four first-period shots on goal — opened the scoring.
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"We obviously had way more energy from the start … That might have been the best period we played since training camp started," Sullivan explained after the win .
Miller and Lafreniere each had a goal and an assist, and nine Rangers recorded at least one point. The Rangers received at least one shot on goal from 17 of their 18 skaters — only Sam Carrick failed to do so.
2. Rangers coach happy with win, but points out 'it wasn't perfect by any stretch'
Sullivan credited the Sabres with having a "dynamic offense." As such, the Rangers weren't going to have the puck all night and completely shut down the Sabres. And they didn't.
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Things started to get a bit more sloppy late in the first period for the Rangers, including a really bad turnover by Will Borgen in front of his own net. The Sabres were the better team in the second period, with a distinct shots advantage and 67.88 percent expected goal share. It didn't help that the Rangers were short-handed three times in the period — minor penalties called against Will Cuylle , Urho Vaakanainen , and Borgen — allowing the Sabres to gain momentum, even if they were blanked on the power play.
But where they didn't find a way against the Penguins, the Rangers did against the Sabres. There's no question that Shesterkin was the main reason why the Rangers won, nor that there are areas which require work in their collective game. But this was a deserved two points for New York.
3. Numbers game
Here are some numbers that stood out Thursday. The Rangers won 65 percent of the face-offs (39 for 60), despite one of the League's best (Trocheck) missing more than half the game. Laba won seven of nine draws (78 percent) and Mika Zibanejad was 10-for-14 (71 percent).
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The Rangers got a lot out of their defensemen at both ends of the rink. Fox blocked four shots, attempted eight of his own, and recorded four shots on goal in a team-high 23:17 TOI. Schneider got physical with Jason Zucker when the Sabres forward whacked away at Shesterkin's glove hand after the whistle in the second period, and finished with a team-high six hits. He and Borgen had primary assists; Fox and Soucy scored goals. Spread the wealth from the blue line.
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