Rangers rally to defeat Penguins 3-2 in shootout: takeaways
The New York Rangers erased a two-goal deficit, rallying to defeat the Pittsburgh Penguins 3-2 in a shootout Saturday afternoon at Madison Square Garden.
New York snapped a five-game losing streak (0-4-1) with its first win since Jan. 26. It marks their seventh win at home; five have come in overtime or a shootout.
Vincent Trocheck netted the decisive shootout winner, and Igor Shesterkin stopped 31 of 33 shots, to help the Rangers overcome a listless start. New York was held to two shots on goal through the first 25:49 of regulation.
Pittsburgh padded its League-best first-period goal differential (plus-22) with an early power-play strike. After Braden Schneider was sent off for holding at 1:28, Anthony Mantha redirected a loud Erik Karlsson clapper past Shesterkin at 2:08 of the opening frame.
The Penguins went back on the power play 28 seconds later when Trocheck was assessed a two-minute unsportsmanlike conduct minor and a 10-minute misconduct for abuse of officials. Pittsburgh nearly went up 2-0 at 3:00 of the first, but a Bryan Rust goal was wiped off the board after a coaches’ challenge by Rangers bench boss Mike Sullivan.
Evgeni Malkin circled behind the net and slid a cross-ice pass to Rust, who ripped a one-timer from the left dot. Shesterkin struggled to get over to the right post, pushing off of Mantha’s right skate while the Penguins forward was in the crease. Officials ultimately waived off the score for goalie interference.
Rust had another golden opportunity later in the frame, speeding in on the rush and clanging the post with a sharp wrister.
Pittsburgh outshot New York 10-2 in the first period and drew three penalties in the process.
The Penguins extended their lead to 2-0 at 1:59 of the second period when defenseman Ryan Shea floated a long point shot that hit off the body of Blueshirts defenseman Scott Morrow and trickled underneath the right arm of Shesterkin.
But New York began to show life as the period unfolded.
Mika Zibanejad cut the deficit to 2-1 at 10:00 of the second with his 120th career power-play goal with the Rangers. Gliding into the low slot, he hammered a one-timer over Stuart Skinner’s glove after a sharp centering feed from Trocheck. Zibanejad has the second-most one-timer goals in the NHL (14), trailing only Edmonton Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl (15), per ESPN stats.
Rangers rookie Gabe Perreault nearly tied the game twice in the middle frame, ringing the post and later missing an open net on a rebound attempt off a Zibanejad shot.
Momentum fully swung in favor of New York in the third period. The Rangers drew even at 2:57, when Taylor Raddysh drove to the net and tapped in a Vladimir Gavrikov feed. Recent call-up Brendan Brisson earned a secondary assist on the play, notching his first point in his second game with the Rangers
New York outshot Pittsburgh 10-4 in the third, and outchanced their Metropolitan Division rivals 13-4, per Natural Stat Trick, forcing overtime for a second consecutive game.
Pittsburgh threatened in the 3-on-3 overtime period, but the Rangers reached the shootout by virtue of some clutch defensive stops. Adam Fox lifted Rust’s stick on a rush, and Shesterkin made two acrobatic stops on Malkin in the final 10.6 seconds of OT.
Trocheck scored the only goal of the shootout, curling in from the right dot and besting Skinner with a quick wrister through the five-hole. Shesterkin made a pad save on Egor Chinakhov; Mantha lost the puck on Pittsburgh’s first attempt, and Tommy Novak missed wide right to clinch a Rangers win.
New York scored its first power-play goal since the NHL Olympic break after a lifeless 0-for-3 against the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday. Zibanejad scored his team-leading 24th goal of the season.
With Sidney Crosby sidelined for Pittsburgh with a lower-body injury, the Rangers won 76.9 percent of their face-offs Saturday — their highest in a game since the NHL began tracking face-offs in 1997-98.
Key takeaways after Rangers defeat Penguins 3-2 in shootout
Tye Kartye ‘as advertised’ in Rangers debut
New York claimed gritty forward Tye Kartye off waivers from the Seattle Kraken on Friday afternoon. Less than 24 hours later, the 24-year-old suited up for his Rangers debut.
“It was a pretty crazy 24 hours,” Kartye admitted postgame. “Found out at like 11 o’clock yesterday. Hustled to make a 2:45 pm flight, packed what I could, and then got here. It was kind of nice — just slept, woke up, and came to play.”
Kartye slotted in at left wing of New York’s third line alongside Brisson and Noah Laba. Kartye delivered a game-high six hits, recorded two shots, and was a minus-one in 12:39 TOI on Saturday.
“For a guy that gets the news yesterday, travels all the way across the country and then has to lace them up in a 12:30 game, that’s not an easy thing to do,” Rangers coach Mike Sullivan said after the win.. “But I thought he played really well.”
Kartye and Morrow attempted to give the Rangers a spark after falling down 1-0 in the first; the two skaters initiated a physical scuffle near Skinner in Pittsburgh’s zone.
“We like that he’s embracing the energy,” Rangers assistant coach Joe Sacco told ESPN’s Emily Kaplan during the second intermission. “He’s trying to be physical.”
Physicality is a calling card for the 5-foot-11 Kartye, who racked up 98 hits in 40 games with the Kraken earlier this season. As a rookie in 2023-24, he finished 19th overall Leaguewide with 229 hits.
“He came as advertised,” Sullivan lauded postgame. “[General manager Chris Drury] talked to me about his motor and his ability to help us in the puck pursuit game, getting in on the forecheck, disrupting plays, making it hard on the opponent’s breakout options — things of that nature.”
Kartye didn’t log any time on the penalty kill Saturday, but he was fourth among Kraken forwards in ATOI short-handed prior to his departure. Sullivan suggested that Kartye will join New York’s penalty-kill unit once he practices with the team.
“I would anticipate getting him involved with that moving forward,” said Sullivan. “It’s just hard — we haven’t had a chance to really work with him yet with that. I didn’t want to put him in a tough spot.”
Igor Shesterkin could impede Rangers’ tank: ‘He has the ability to change the outcome of the game’
Shesterkin was in prime form Saturday. New York’s No. 1 goalie helped limit the damage as Pittsburgh tilted the ice in the first period. Both Penguins’ goals came on shots that sharply changed directions on the way to the net.
Shesterkin single-handedly sent the Rangers to the shootout in the final 10.6 seconds of overtime, robbing Malkin twice on the doorstep.
“I think he’s the best goalie in the game,” Sullivan stated postgame. “Just his compete level. He’s an elite player, and so it’s comforting to have him between the pipes, whether it be in the shootout or anytime, for that matter. He has the ability to change the game.”
The Rangers were 2-10-1 in the 13 games that Shesterkin missed on long-term injured reserve, netting five of a possible 26 points from Jan. 6 to Feb. 5. New York tumbled to the bottom of the Eastern Conference and sank to second-worst overall after an overtime loss to the Flyers on Thursday.
If the Blueshirts have their sights set on a high lottery pick, Shesterkin’s return could interfere with their plans.
“I’m focused on my game,” Shesterkin said in response to Drury’s announcement of a Rangers retool. “I just play a game at a time, and that’s it.”
A locked-in Shesterkin could easily steal some wins for the Rangers, even if Drury ships off more talent ahead of the NHL trade deadline on March 6.
Gabe Perreault getting ‘more confident’
Perreault didn’t end up on the score sheet Saturday, but the 2023 first-round pick (No. 23 overall) was one of New York’s most impressive forwards against Pittsburgh.
Perreault tied an NHL career-high with five shots on goal against the Penguins, pacing all Rangers skaters. Playing alongside Zibanejad and J.T. Miller on New York’s top line, Perreault was a consistent offensive threat; he led all Blueshirts with seven scoring chances created and four high-danger chances, per Natural Stat Trick.
“Even before the break, I thought we built some chemistry,” Zibanejad noted. “The skill that he has, and I think more and more confident he’s getting — you see him making plays.”
Perreault passed up an opportunity to shoot on a 2-on-1 with Zibanejad in the third, instead attempting to slide it back to Zibanejad. Perreault’s pass was deflected, but Zibanejad supported the decision.
“If that’s what he thinks is the best play, trust it,” Zibanejad asserted. “Next time, it goes through, and I score, and we’re happy. That’s a great play.”
It’ll be hard to shake the feeling of disappointment around the 2025-26 Rangers, but a blossoming Perreault could be an important bright spot for the team’s future.
