Penalty-killers rarely get any glory in hockey, but in the Rangers’ regular-season home opener Monday night, their man-down guys, along with goaltender Igor Shesterkin, were the biggest heroes in a hard-fought 2-1 victory over the Arizona Coyotes.
The penalty-killers snuffed out a crucial five-on-three Coyotes power play that bridged the end of the second and the start of the third periods. Then Shesterkin stopped a penalty shot by Arizona’s Jason Zucker with 4:48 remaining in the third period to help the Rangers earn their second win in three games.
“To kill a five-on-three [and to get] the penalty-shot save was really important inside the game,’’ coach Peter Laviolette said. “That was a pretty gutsy effort.’’
Vincent Trocheck’s tip-in for a power-play goal at 8:26 of the third period proved to be the winning goal, but the Rangers would never have had a chance had their penalty kill not snuffed four of five Arizona power plays.
Then, as the Blueshirts sought to protect the lead, Barclay Goodrow was caught tripping Zucker from behind, and Zucker was awarded a penalty shot.
The lefthanded shooter swooped in from the right wing and fired a shot that Shesterkin stopped with his blocker pad.
“On a penalty shot, it’s more like mind games,’’ said Shesterkin, who made 26 saves. “When he moved on his right side, I was ready for a shot.’’
The victory improved the Rangers to 2-1. Arizona, which looks like a much-improved group over the team that was 28-40-14 last season, fell to 1-1.
The Rangers, who won their season opener in Buffalo last Thursday before losing at Columbus on Saturday, took the lead at 14:11 of the first period. Kaapo Kakko won a puck on the boards in his own end and chipped it out, springing Mika Zibanejad and Chris Kreider on a two-on-one break. Zibanejad went wide on the right and centered a pass for Kreider, who banged it in behind goalie Connor Ingram for his fourth goal of the season.
Penalties began to disrupt the…
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