MONTREAL – Patrick Kane, who was preparing to play his third game with the Rangers, was mobbed by the local media after the Rangers’ optional morning skate Thursday at Bell Centre.
Kane’s first game in a Ranger jersey in Montreal was an eventful one that saw the future Hall of Famer score his first goal as a Ranger, but it was Mika Zibanejad who helped win it, scoring the only goal in the shootout to give the Rangers a 4-3 victory, snapping a two-game losing streak.
Igor Shesterkin, who had not looked great in the first two periods, had a strong third and overtime, and then stopped all three shots he faced in the shootout to get the victory for the Rangers, who now move on to Kane’s hometown of Buffalo, where they will face the Sabres on Saturday afternoon.
Jacob Trouba’s goal 48 seconds into the second period tied it 2-2 and Kane had the second assist on the play, giving him his first point as a Ranger. The Rangers then got their third power play when Montreal’s Anthony Richard was sent off for tripping Jimmy Vesey, and Kane was a conspicuous figure on the man advantage.
First, he lost control of the puck and Montreal’s Chris Tierney scooped it up and sprinted away on a two-on-one. Tierney passed it to Josh Anderson, who beat Shesterkin for a shorthanded goal to make it 3-2 at 13:20.
But Kane redeemed himself when he fired from the top of the left circle, through a screen to tie it at 14:31. Neither team scored in the third period, which sent the game into overtime.
