5/82: Thursday, October 16 vs. New York Rangers

Final Score: Leafs 2, Rangers 1 (OT)

Well, Mike Sullivan and the New York Rangers finally got a goal. After being shut out for almost three full games, forward Juuso Parssinen tallied his first goal of the season and put the Rangers on the board with 15 minutes left in regulation Thursday night in Toronto.

The goal tied the Original Six contest at 1-1 as Matthew Knies had scored in the first period. His second of the season came on the power play, Toronto’s first tally with a man-advantage this season.

Watching the game on TSN (with expert breakdowns courtesy of Mike Johnson), made it easier to appreciate a close, tight game like last night’s was.

I’ve buried the lede here. Apologies.

Anthony Stolarz and Igor Shesterkin dueled it out in a truly fascinating goalie match-up Thursday night in Toronto. Shesterkin finished with 22 saves on 24 shots (.917 save percentage) but his Leafs counterpart finished with 28 saves on 29 shots, a truly glowing .966 save percentage. Stolarz’ numbers through his first 3 starts weren’t particularly impressive but this game definitely helps in that regard.

You truly can have it all in the modern NHL. One night, the Buffalo Sabres can beat the Ottawa Senators 8-4 and the Chicago Blackhawks can beat the St. Louis Blues 8-3 (Wednesday). Another night, there will only be one goal across the NHL (Sunday, the Washington Capitals beating the Rangers).

Okay. I cheated there. That was the only NHL game Sunday.

Back to the Rangers.

It’s been a rough start offensively to their 2025-26 season and parts of that can be attributed to a new coach implementing a new system, Chris Kreider being traded to the Anaheim Ducks (he has four goals. Rangers’ GM Chris Drury is well aware of this), and Vincent Trocheck out injured to start the year.

Through the first week of the season, the New York Rangers have only 11 goals in six games, ranking 24th in the NHL. The Leafs sit in second with 19 goals in five games, only behind Mitch Marner and the Vegas Golden Knights with 20 goals.

The baffling part of this is that the Rangers have shown great play defensively. With only nine goals given up through the first six games, Igor Shesterkin is more than doing his job. But at some point, it’s on the skaters in front of him to start producing on the other end of the ice.

Auston' Matthews’ OT winner was the only shot of the extra frame, for both teams. The Rangers had held the puck for the beginning stretch of OT but couldn’t get a puck on net. Leave it to #34 to finish it off, given the chance.

The Rangers have a lot of time to figure out their offense, but December comes quickly. Fans only need to look at the Nashville Predators’ start last season to realize even October wins matter.

I also realized (remembered?) only last night that Matthew Knies is 22 years old. For some reason, my brain was convinced he was at least 24 or 25. That’s a scary thought for 31 teams to have.

The Maple Leafs host the Seattle Kraken on Saturday. 7pm EST puck drop.