Rangers
The Tye Kartye revenge game delivered in Seattle on Saturday. Kartye debuted in the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs and played his first 180 games with the Kraken. He burst onto the scene at 21, scoring in his first NHL game and finishing the playoffs with five points in 10 games.
Despite his early success, Kartye flew under the radar during his next three seasons. Consistently a bottom-six forward on a struggling team, he never got the chance to shine. He entered the league undrafted, so he had to work hard to earn a consistent NHL role.
Seattle waived Kartye last February. He hadn’t recorded more than 20 points in one season. He only had eight in 40 games with Seattle before being waived, but he registered 14 in his first 24 games with the Rangers. He arrived at the perfect time because even though the games were meaningless, the Rangers were winning.
Kartye didn’t have to endure the hardships the Rangers experienced throughout the 2024-25 season and the first half of last season. He made the most of his opportunity and worked toward top-six status. Now, he is tied for second on the team with six goals. He has 13 points in 18 games.
The Rangers’ top six personnel have shifted throughout the season, but Kartye hasn’t. On Saturday, he skated alongside JT Miller and Oliver Bjorkstrand. Kartye also plays on the second power-play unit, which head coach Mike Sullivan deploys primarily if his first unit doesn’t mesh.
“It was a little weird [playing against my old team],” Kartye said. “I don’t think it’s because of the building or the city or anything, but I still know a lot of the guys. The team hasn’t had too much changeover, so I think playing against some old friends was definitely a little weird for me.”
Kartye, the former undrafted free agent, always plays with a chip on his shoulder. At 8:25 in the first period, he had his first career power-play goal removed because he kicked the puck. He responded 40 seconds later, still on the man advantage, wrestling for room in the slot and deflecting Adam Fox’s wrist shot past Joey Daccord.
“Yeah, he scored twice that shift,” Sullivan said. “The way we looked at it, when we split up the first unit that we were trying to get going for the longest time [and] we went two units, we were looking at personnel groups and what it might look like.
“Tye is one of our leading scorers five-on-five. I asked the coaches, ‘Am I crazy not to think that if he’s one of our leading scorers five-on-five, a smart coach would probably put him on the power play?’ We had that discussion, and we thought we’d try him there.”
The Rangers took the lead 95 seconds into the first period, when Gabe Perreault blasted Mika Zibanejad’s perfect centering pass. Jaroslav Chmelar made it 3-0 five minutes after Kartye’s goal, jabbing a rebound past Daccord, forcing the Kraken to pull him.
Midway through the third period, Pavel Dorofeyev scored his fourth goal in six games, double-deeking Zibanejad’s rush pass for a 4-0 lead. Dorofeyev’s six goals are tied with Kartye, Perreault, and Bjorkstrand for second on the Rangers, and he has points in seven of his last eight games.
In his first regular-season start for the Rangers, goalie Joonas Korpisalo shut out the Kraken for two periods, but the game shifted in the third. Seattle outshot the Rangers 13-4, and the Rangers only had one even-strength shot on goal. According to Natural Stat Trick, Seattle had eight high-danger chances in the period.
Former Rangers’ second-overall draft pick Kaapo Kakko scored 110 seconds into the third, and the roof came crashing in on the Rangers. Their lead fell to one goal with five minutes left, but Zibanejad drew a clutch penalty with 2:26 remaining. Otherwise, Seattle surely would have tied the game.
“It’s funny how momentum in this game is such a huge influence on [outcomes],” Sullivan said. “You look around the league, there’s a lot of multi-goal leads that disappear pretty quickly. Momentum is a big part of it. When you have a multi-goal lead like that going into the third, as I talked to the team about afterward, the first five minutes are really important.”
Overall, Korpisalo was strong in his first regular-season start since April 12. He stopped 25 of 28 shots, including seven of nine high-danger shots (CSA Hockey). The Rangers hope he can stabilize their goaltending room, especially after Dylan Garand, who started three NHL games before this season, played in 12 straight.
“That presents a unique challenge when both of your goalies get hurt for as long as they have to this point,” Sullivan said, referencing Igor Shesterkin’s season-ending injury and the foot infection that sidelined Korpisalo for over a month. “It’s [a] next-man-up mindset.
“Garand has done a really good job in goal for us, taking the lead with respect to that. To get Korpy back is huge for us. He’s obviously a quality goaltender. It gives us the ability to share the workload a little bit.”
Tonight at 8 PM (7 PM CST), the Rangers will visit the Edmonton Oilers (MSG, DAZN). The Oilers, 12-3-3, are one of the NHL’s best teams, and Connor McDavid, the league’s best player, has 11 points in his last five games. Edmonton beat the Rangers 4-1 last Sunday.
Schedule
8:00 PM (7:00 PM CST): NYR at EDM; MSG, DAZN
8:15 PM (7:15 PM CST): Monday Night Football (MNF), Week 9 – Buffalo Bills (6-1) at Minnesota Vikings (6-1); ESPN, ABC, ESPN App
8:00 PM (7:00 PM CST): Progressive Monday Night Kickoff; ESPN, ABC, ESPN App
Cover Image Courtesy: New York Rangers
