Igor Shesterkin scores the first goalie goal in Rangers history: how it happened
The New York goaltender fired the puck into an empty net to finish a 5–1 win over Tampa Bay, becoming the 18th NHL goalie to score and the first in the Rangers' century-long history.
Verified brief
The story in 60 seconds
Igor Shesterkin scored a goal — not merely received credit for one — in the New York Rangers' 5–1 home-opening win over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday, October 1, 2026. With Tampa Bay's net empty, Shesterkin gathered a ricochet, shot the puck the length of the ice and found the net at 17:26 of the third period. It was the first goalie goal in Rangers history, the 21st goalie goal in NHL history including the playoffs, and the first of Shesterkin's NHL career. He also made 24 saves in New York's first victory of the season.
This brief and the full story below are based on the disclosed sources. SearchTrends Daily’s interpretation appears later under “Our take.”
Full reporting
The complete story
The direct answer to the search is that Shesterkin scored New York's fifth goal himself. Tampa Bay had pulled Andrei Vasilevskiy for an extra attacker late in the third period. A dump-in hit the end boards and came back toward the Rangers crease. Shesterkin moved to the puck and launched it high down the ice. It landed beyond the skaters and slid inside the left post of the empty net with 2:34 remaining. The goal was recorded as unassisted.
Shesterkin initially hesitated because players screened his view and he did not see the puck cross the line. The reaction at Madison Square Garden gave him the answer: the crowd erupted and his teammates skated toward him before he led the usual line of fist bumps along the bench.
The goal completed a performance that already made Shesterkin the game's central figure. He stopped 24 of Tampa Bay's 25 shots. New York killed all seven Lightning power plays, including extended third-period pressure when Tampa Bay repeatedly used an extra attacker. The Rangers scored through Mika Zibanejad, Pavel Dorofeyev, Eeli Tolvanen and Gabe Perreault before Shesterkin added the empty-net goal. Nikita Kucherov scored Tampa Bay's only goal.
The 5–1 result moved the Rangers to 1–1–0 after a 3–0 opening loss in Boston. Tampa Bay fell to 0–1–0. It was also Shesterkin's 100th win at Madison Square Garden, achieved in his 177th home appearance.
Source perspectives
What other reporting adds
These are the reports, official records, and trend observations used to build the story. The note under each link explains exactly what it contributes.
Official game recap for the 5–1 score, scoring sequence, 24 saves, special-teams results, team records and the league's goalie-goal count.
Read original source ↗New York RangersRangers vs. Lightning: Postgame NotesPrimary team record confirming the franchise first, Shesterkin's 100th home win and the other Rangers scoring milestones.
Read original source ↗Tampa Bay LightningMishkin's Extra Shift: Rangers 5, Lightning 1Opponent-side account confirming the goal, Shesterkin's performance, Tampa Bay's 0-for-7 power play and the sequence that produced the empty-net chance.
Read original source ↗Associated Press via The Washington PostIgor Shesterkin becomes the 18th NHL goaltender to score a goal and first to do it for the RangersIndependent on-site report confirming the shot, time remaining, historical count, postgame reaction and 24-of-25 save line.
Read original source ↗NHL.comShesterkin latest NHL goalie with a goalLeague history explaining how Shesterkin's goal fits among direct shots and credited goalie goals across the regular season and playoffs.
Read original source ↗SearchTrends Daily opinion
Our take
Analysis
What the evidence and search signal suggest
The memorable image is the long shot, but New York's more repeatable achievement was its penalty killing. Tampa Bay had seven power plays and one of the league's most dangerous creators in Kucherov, yet the Lightning managed only one goal and just six third-period shots despite their extra-attacker situations. Shesterkin's shooting skill created the viral moment; his saves and the Rangers' structure created the opportunity to protect a lead and wait for an empty net.
The score should still be read cautiously. Opening-week games can exaggerate both strengths and weaknesses, and one 5–1 result does not establish that New York has solved the home-scoring problems that marked the start of its previous season. It does show a cleaner route to victory after the shutout loss in Boston: an early power-play goal, contributions from newcomers, disciplined work while short-handed and elite goaltending.
For Tampa Bay, the useful concern is not that it conceded a once-in-a-generation franchise moment. It is the 0-for-7 power play and the limited push in the third period. Those are tactical issues the Lightning can review; a goalie scoring from the other end is mainly the consequence of the empty-net situation they created while chasing the game.
Analysis and commentary are SearchTrends Daily’s interpretation. They are intentionally separated from the sourced account above.
Meaning
Why this matters
A goalie goal is unusual because the position is built around preventing goals, not creating them. The scoring opportunity usually exists only when the opposing team removes its goaltender for an extra skater and the defending goalie can control the puck cleanly enough to shoot through traffic from roughly the length of the rink.
This one was particularly meaningful for New York. The Rangers began NHL play in 1926, yet no Rangers goalie had scored in a game before Shesterkin. The NHL counts him as the 18th different goaltender to score and the goal as the 21st by a goalie across regular-season and playoff games. Some goalie goals are credited to the last goalie who touched the puck before an opponent accidentally sends it into an empty net. Shesterkin's belongs to the rarer, visually obvious category: he took the shot that went in.
The goal also answers why the moment spread beyond the final score. It combined a century-old franchise first, a difficult long-range shot and a strong conventional goaltending performance in the same game. For readers who saw a short clip without context, the important distinction is that this was not a ceremonial play or a statistical quirk. It counted as a normal NHL goal and set the final score.
Background
How we got here
The league's official history lists 21 goalie goals by 18 different goaltenders, counting both the regular season and the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Ron Hextall is the best-known early example of a goalie deliberately shooting into the opposing net, and he remains the only goalie to have scored one in the playoffs. More recently, New York Islanders goalie Ilya Sorokin was credited with a goal in March 2025 because he was the last Islanders player to touch the puck before Nashville sent it into its own empty net.
That difference became part of the postgame humour. Shesterkin, a friend of Sorokin, had previously joked that an indirect credited goal should not count in quite the same way. After shooting this one into the net himself, Shesterkin's verdict was simple: this one counted.
The moment also ended a long personal pursuit. Rangers teammates said they had watched Shesterkin narrowly miss similar attempts many times. His puck-handling is a recognized part of his game, so this was a plausible ambition rather than a random clearance that happened to travel far enough.
Outlook
What is likely to happen next
The Rangers are scheduled to play the Red Wings in Detroit on Friday, October 2, while Tampa Bay's next game is its home opener against Washington on Saturday. Shesterkin said he would keep looking for another scoring chance, but future attempts will depend on game state and an opposing empty net.
Our view of the Rangers' start would become more positive if the penalty kill and balanced scoring hold up across the next several games, especially away from Madison Square Garden. It would become more cautious if the 5–1 win proves to be a one-night correction and the attack again struggles to create chances at even strength. The history will not change: regardless of what follows, Shesterkin is the first Rangers goalie to score an NHL goal.
A conditional editorial assessment based on the evidence available at the review date, not a guaranteed outcome.
Live record
Updates to this story
No material updates yet.
Commentary
What we think
SearchTrends Daily opinion: Shesterkin's goal deserves the historical headline, but the best measure of the Rangers' night is that the spectacle did not have to rescue a poor performance. New York was already ahead 4–1 because its penalty kill and goaltender had controlled Tampa Bay's comeback attempts. The goal was a reward for a complete win, not a distraction from its flaws.
The fairest interpretation is therefore two-layered: celebrate the first goalie goal in Rangers history, and separately note that New York's stronger signal was its response to an opening-night loss. The first may never happen again; the second is what the Rangers need to reproduce.