Igor Shesterkin Scored a Goal—and Made Rangers History

For a moment, Igor Shesterkin wasn’t sure whether to celebrate.

The Rangers goalie had sent the puck soaring down the ice toward Tampa Bay’s empty net, but a player screened his view. He couldn’t see where it landed. Then Madison Square Garden erupted, and his teammates rushed toward him with their arms raised. Shesterkin had scored the first goalie goal in New York Rangers history, putting the finishing touch on a 5–1 win over the Lightning on Thursday night.

It was the kind of moment fans will remember long after they forget the date of an early October game. Shesterkin made 24 saves to earn New York’s first win of the season. With 2:34 left in the third period, he added an unassisted empty-net goal—the first of his NHL career. He became the 18th different goalie in league history to be credited with a goal, and one of the smaller group to score by actually shooting the puck into the net.

GOALIE GOAL for IGOR SHESTERKIN!

A shot years in the making

Shesterkin’s goal began when a Tampa Bay pass deflected into the corner and came back toward the Rangers’ crease. He moved to the puck, dropped to a knee and fired it high down the length of the ice. It landed in the offensive zone and slid inside the left post.

That may sound like a fortunate bounce, but Shesterkin has wanted this opportunity for years. He handles the puck well and has taken aim at empty nets before. Mika Zibanejad said he had watched from the bench on numerous occasions thinking Shesterkin’s next attempt might finally go in. This time, it did—and the goalie got to skate past the Rangers bench accepting congratulations like any other scorer.

The distinction matters. Goalies can also receive credit for a goal when they are the last player on their team to touch the puck before an opponent accidentally sends it into its own net. Shesterkin shot this one himself. His friend and rival Ilya Sorokin was credited with an Islanders goal through the latter scenario in 2025; Shesterkin had jokingly questioned whether that should count the same way. After Thursday’s game, he made clear how he felt about his own shot: “This one counts.”

The Rangers needed the win, too

The historic goal will dominate the highlights, but New York had already built a strong performance around it. The Rangers were coming off a 3–0 loss to Boston in their season opener. Against Tampa Bay, Zibanejad scored a power-play goal just 5:34 into the first period, and newcomer Pavel Dorofeyev made it 2–0 later in the period. Eeli Tolvanen scored his first goal as a Ranger early in the second. After Nikita Kucherov pulled one back for the Lightning, Gabe Perreault restored New York’s three-goal lead.

New York also killed all seven Tampa Bay power plays. Dorofeyev finished with a goal and two points in his Rangers debut, Zibanejad had a goal and an assist, and Adam Fox supplied two assists. Shesterkin’s goal gave the home crowd one final reason to roar, but the Rangers had done the work needed to earn the two points well before his shot crossed the line.

The home setting made it more meaningful. Last season, the Rangers were shut out in their first three games at Madison Square Garden and five of their first seven. They had talked about starting better at home. On Thursday, they scored in the opening six minutes and closed the night with a piece of franchise history.

One goal that belongs to Shesterkin alone

The NHL has seen goalie goals before. Ron Hextall became the first goalie to shoot the puck into the opposing net in 1987, and a handful of others have joined him over the decades. Until Thursday, none had done it in a Rangers uniform. Shesterkin changed that with one clean swing of his stick.

He joked afterward that he would keep trying to score another. That sounds like Shesterkin: even after making history, he sees another chance ahead. For the Rangers and their fans, there is no need to rush past this one. Their goalie stopped the Lightning, scored on them and turned a home opener into a night Madison Square Garden will remember.