Kreider scores 2 points, Shesterkin has 34 saves as Rangers beat Maple Leafs

TORONTO – Chris Kreider scored two goals and Igor Shesterkin stopped 34 shots as the New York Rangers defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-1 on Saturday night.

Alexis Lafreniere and Artemi Panarin also scored for the Rangers, and Mika Zibanejad and Reilly Smith each had two assists. New York improved to 4-0-1 on the season.

Auston Matthews scored a goal for Toronto and Anthony Stolarz finished with 25 saves.

Shesterkin made several big stops throughout the night, including on John Tavares and a deuce on William Nylander.

Matthews, who led the NHL with 69 goals last season, broke the Russian goaltender's shutout push in the third period as he cut New York's lead to 2-1 before Kreider and Panarin scored empty goals.

Takeaways

In Wednesday's 6-2 win, the Maple Leafs went on a 9-0, two-goal power play run against the Los Angeles Kings, but were 0-3 against the Rangers, moving them to 2-0 on the season. 16 fell behind.

The Rangers won their first three road games to start a season for the third time in franchise history – and the first time in 92 years. New York also achieved this feat in 1927–28 and 1931–32.

Key moment

Leafs forward Max Domi missed a great chance to score on a 3-on-1 in the second period before Kreider made it 2-0 moments later with a delayed penalty off a smooth pass from Zibanejad.

Key statistics

Lafreniere has scored at least one point in each of the first five games, making him the second-longest point streak by a Rangers player age 23 or younger to start the season, behind Tomas Sandstrom (1986-87) and Mike McEwen (1978-79). Darren Turcotte (1990-91) tops the list with a record of 11 games.

Next

The Maple Leafs host Tampa Bay on Monday night to complete a four-game homestand and the Rangers visit Montreal on Tuesday to complete a three-game homestand.