The New York Rangers held off a furious third-period push from the Seattle Kraken to win 4-3 at Climate Pledge Arena on Saturday, improving to 10-7-1 on the season. New York built a 4-0 lead through two periods before Seattle scored three times in the final frame.
Jaroslav Chmelar scored his first career goal and Mika Zibanejad set up two others as the Rangers built their cushion. Berkly Catton answered with two assists for Seattle, which fell to 9-6-1 after erasing most of the deficit but running out of time.
Key Moments: How The Rangers Built And Defended Their Lead
New York put the game away early. Gabe Perreault opened the scoring just 1:35 into the first period on a wrist shot assisted by Zibanejad and Alexis Lafrenière. Tye Kartye made it 2-0 at 9:05 with a tip-in, and Chmelar struck at 13:53 to send the Rangers into the first intermission up 3-0.
Pavel Dorofeyev extended the lead to 4-0 at 12:46 of the second period on a backhand finish, again assisted by Zibanejad and Lafrenière. The Rangers carried that four-goal cushion into the third, but Seattle would not go quietly.
Kaapo Kakko cut the deficit to 4-1 just 1:50 into the third period. Jordan Eberle made it 4-2 at 6:38, and Vince Dunn pulled the Kraken within one at 15:02 on a slap shot set up by Catton and Matthew Wood. Seattle outshot New York 28-26 for the game, but the Rangers’ early burst proved decisive.
Player Of The Game: Mika Zibanejad
Zibanejad finished with two assists and a plus-1 rating in 25:16 of ice time, setting up both Perreault’s opener and Dorofeyev’s second-period goal. His playmaking in the first 33 minutes built the lead that ultimately withstood Seattle’s comeback bid.
Rangers Vs. Kraken By The Numbers
New York won the faceoff battle decisively, taking 32 draws to Seattle’s 21 for a 60.4% success rate. The Rangers also out-hit the Kraken 36-18 and blocked 18 shots to Seattle’s 12. Seattle held the edge on the power play, converting 1 of 2 chances for a 50.0% rate compared to New York’s 1-for-3 showing at 33.3%. Goaltender Joonas Korpisalo stopped 25 of 28 shots for New York, while Seattle used two goalies, with Philipp Grubauer stopping 15 of 16 in relief of Joey Daccord, who allowed three goals on 10 shots.
What It Means
The win moved the Rangers to 10-7-1. They lead the season series with Seattle 1-0. Seattle fell to 9-6-1.
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