NEW YORK (AP) — Ty Kartye and Will Cuylle scored two goals each and Dylan Garand made 19 saves as the New York Rangers beat the Vancouver Canucks 6-2 on Sunday night in their first game since losing goaltender Igor Shesterkin for the season with a knee injury.
Kartye snapped a 2-2 tie with his second goal of the game at 18:25 of the second period and the Rangers went on to win their fourth straight at home to start the season.
Alexis Lafreniere and
Gabe Perreault also scored for the Rangers, while J.T. Miller and Mika Zibanejad each had two assists.
Shesterkin injured his right knee Friday night in a loss at Washington.
The 24-year-old Garand, who was placed on waivers by the Rangers before the season but not claimed, is now the presumptive starter for New York, which has won five of seven games this season. Spencer Martin dressed as Garand’s backup.
Kartye opened the scoring 27 seconds into the contest. Vancouver’s Jake DeBrusk tied it at 17:04 of the first before Cuylle put New York ahead with his first at 2:09 of the second.
Canucks defenseman Elias Pettersson scored short-handed at 16:56 of the second to tie the contest again before Kartye’s go-ahead goal.
Lafreniere extended New York’s lead to 4-2 with his team-leading fifth of the season on the power play at 1:04 of the third. Perreault made it 5-2 at 5:57. Cuylle scored again with less than five minutes to play.
Vancouver goalie Kevin Lankinen made 19 saves.
With his assist on Lafreniere's goal, Zibanejad became the third Ranger with 250 power-play points, joining Brian Leetch (514) and Rod Gilbert (323).
The Canucks fell to 2-5-0 under new coach Manny Malhotra. Vancouver lost 4-1 at New Jersey on Saturday.
Rangers: Host the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday night.
Canucks: Visit the New York Islanders on Tuesday night.
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