Shesterkin makes 26 saves in Rangers victory against Coyotes

NEW YORK -- Igor Shesterkin made 26 saves, including a penalty shot with less than five minutes remaining, and the New York Rangers defeated the Arizona Coyotes 2-1 in their home opener at Madison Square Garden on Monday.

Shesterkin saved Jason Zucker's attempt at 15:12 after he was interfered with by Rangers forward Barclay Goodrow on a breakaway.

"On the penalty shot, it is more like mind games, so when [Zucker] moved on the right side, I was looking for the shot on the blocker side," Shesterkin said.

Chris Kreider scored in his third straight game, and Vincent Trocheck had the go-ahead goal at 8:26 of the third period for New York (2-1-0), which is 12-0-2 in its past 14 games against the Coyotes at home.

"That was a hard-fought win," Rangers coach Peter Laviolette said. "They play hard and they're a young team that's trying to move in the right direction. … It was pretty gutsy."

Clayton Keller scored his first goal of the season, and Connor Ingram made 26 saves for Arizona (1-1-0) in his first start of the season.

"That was a really good game," Coyotes coach Andre Tourigny said. "I think we played really well the first two periods, started the third really well. When they took the lead, I did not like our answer. I think we were trying to do too much from there but that was a [heck] of a game."

Trocheck put New York ahead 2-1 with a power-play goal at 8:26 of the third when he tipped Artemi Panarin's shot after it deflected off Arizona defenseman Troy Stecher. Ingram made a pad save on Mika Zibanejad on a one-timer from the left circle 13 seconds earlier.

"[Ingram] was really good," Tourigny said. "He was rock solid for us there. It's not even a topic. We know what he can do."

Kreider gave the Rangers a 1-0 lead at 14:11 of the first period, scoring on a 2-on-1 off a pass from Zibanejad. It was his fourth goal in New York’s first three games.

Keller tied it 1-1 with a power-play goal at 5:00 of the second period after scoring off a passing play from Nick Schmaltz and Logan Cooley.

The Rangers killed off a 5-on-3 early in the third with the game tied 1-1 after Alexis Lafrenière was called for slashing and Ryan Lindgren for unsportsmanlike conduct with 1:19 remaining in the second. The Coyotes had three shots on goal during the power play.

"We have to get one there," Arizona defenseman Sean Durzi said. "I think that's what it comes down to. And you can look at so many aspects of that game. To get one there, it's a different game, and it didn't happen for us. They made a couple of good blocks ... but it's something we'll work on."

The Coyotes were 1-for-5 on the power-play.

"[The penalty kill] came up big, especially that first part of the 5-on-3," said Zibanejad, who played 3:01 short-handed. "A two-minute 5-on-3, that's not easy and the guys on the ice did an amazing job. And 'Shesty' as well to keep us in it and honestly, surviving those two minutes, I thought we got some momentum out of that and came up with our own power-play goal."

Shesterkin is 4-for-4 in saving penalty shots in his NHL career.

"Obviously as a team, you never want to give [a penalty shot] up, but [Shesterkin] has that ability and he's pretty kind of stone-cold killer in his veins," New York captain Jacob Trouba said. "When those kind of moments come around, he's always come up big for us."

NOTES: Lindgren played after missing a 5-3 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday because of an upper-body injury. He led New York skaters in ice time (23:53) and had two shots on goal. … Coyotes defenseman Matt Dumba played his 600th NHL game. He had two shots on goal and two blocked shots in 19:11. … Rangers forward Kaapo Kakko had an assist on Kreider’s goal and is one point from 100 in his NHL career (44 goals, 55 assists). … Keller has a point in all six games he has played at Madison Square Garden (four goals, three assists). … Durzi led all skaters in ice time (29:04).