In Madison Square Garden, the spectators were treated to the first goal of the season in the 24th minute. Zibanejad, weakened, escaped the defense and opened the scoring with a brilliant backhand loop. “I’m glad I scored in the first game. It’s always better than waiting for a goal for fifteen games,” said the striker.
The second power play went much better for the Lightning players. With a double advantage, Steven Stamkos found space in the left circle for a faceoff and shot past Igor Šestorkin. Even so, the guests were not satisfied with their overpowering efforts. “We played them too lightly and let Rangers have chances. After one hesitation, we even conceded with a numerical advantage. That’s not good,” said defender Victor Hedman.
Even weakening his team didn’t work out too well. At the beginning of the third period, the Lightning left too much space for Zibanejad, who gave the Rangers the lead back from a similar spot as Stamkos. For the second time in his career, the 29-year-old Swede started the season with two goals in the opening game and followed up on the performance of the Stanley Cup, in which he scored 24 points in 20 games. “He’s a really great player. He played an excellent playoff and started the new season again in style,” praised teammate captain Jacob Trouba.
Barclay Goodrow sealed the win in the 52nd minute. Chytil led the Rangers’ third formation and sent two shots on goal in 12 and a half minutes on the ice.
The duel between Los Angeles and Vegas offered a five-goal shootout in the final period. The decisive hit was scored in the last minute by Vegas captain Mark Stone, who completed a quick combination at 59:34.
William Karlsson (1+1) and Alex Pietrangelo (0+2) helped Vegas win with two points. The Kings were kept in the game until the very end by goalkeeper Jonathan Quick, who covered 47 shots. “We should have gotten at least a point, we absolutely wasted an excellent goaltending performance,” lamented Los Angeles coach Todd McLellan.
| NHL Results: |
|---|
| Los Angeles – Vegas 3:4 (1:0, 0:1, 2:3) |
| Goals: 11. Vilardi, 45. Kempe, 53. Kaliyev – 22. Marchessault, 42. Eichel, 48. W. Karlsson, 60. Stone. Shots on goal: 30:51. Spectators: 18,230. Stars of the match: 1. Vilardi (Los Angeles), 2. W. Karlsson (Vegas), 3. Quick (Los Angeles). |
| NY Rangers – Tampa Bay 3:1 (0:0, 1:1, 2:0) |
| Goals: 24th and 46th Zibanejad, 51st Goodrow – 30th Stamkos. Shots on goal: 39:27. Attendance: 18,006. Stars of the match: 1. Zibanejad, 2. Goodrow, 3. Trouba (all NY Rangers). |
