If this season ends up being different for the Rangers and by the middle of April and the end of the 84-game marathon they end up finding themselves on the right side of the playoff cutline, then the moment Thursday when nearly half of the Rangers bench spilled onto the ice to celebrate Igor Shesterkin’s empty-net goal with just over two minutes left will serve as the lasting image for when it all started to shift. 

Throughout Thursday night’s 5-1 win against the Lightning — who, for the better part of the last eight years, have served as an Eastern Conference measuring stick — the blueprint for this iteration of the Blueshirts emerged. They exorcised their Madison Square Garden demons from last season. 

The newcomers — both the hyped and the under-the-radar additions — contributed. All four lines generated chances. All three defensive pairings limited the Tampa Bay opportunities. Shesterkin was Shesterkin and even managed the first goalie goal in franchise history to boot. 

Rangers goaltender Igor Shesterkin celebrates with his teammates after he scores the first goalie goal in Rangers franchise history in the third period at Madison Square Garden on October 1, 2026. JASON SZENES FOR NEW YORK POST

Behind goals from Mika Zibanejad, Pavel Dorofeyev, Eeli Tolvanen, Gabe Perreault and, of course, Shesterkin, the Rangers (1-1-0) secured their first win of the season and, for at least one night inside a lively Garden, made their home struggles from last season an afterthought to the tune of a statement victory. 

“I love these fans,” J.T. Miller said, “and they deserved better, frankly, at home. I’m just happy that we got to give them a good performance tonight also — but for ourselves too. We’re trying our assess off no matter what, but I think that takes a load off for the fans and us. Mainly the team. 

“… It’s one game, but I think it went a long ways coming off the start we had last year.” 

It took until the Rangers’ fifth game at the Garden last year to score their fifth home goal. Their goal drought hit 180:57 to start the year, and, in a way, it foreshadowed what followed the rest of the year — with the Blueshirts winning just 14 games at their home rink. 

New York Rangers goaltender Igor Shesterkin watches as he scores the first goalie goal in Rangers franchise history in the third period at Madison Square Garden in New York, Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026. JASON SZENES FOR NEW YORK POST

The Rangers veterans and head coach Mike Sullivan all echoed a similar sentiment during training camp, though. Sullivan called them a “forward-thinking group.” 

New York Rangers right wing Pavel Dorofeyev celebrates with center J.T. Miller and right wing Oliver Bjorkstrand after scoring a goal past Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy in the first period at Madison Square Garden in New York, Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026. JASON SZENES FOR NEW YORK POST

Miller called it a “fresh slate” with a new group of pieces who had a “great vibe” right now. 

And after a dud in the opener, the Rangers started to back up those visions. Dorofeyev, acquired after scoring 72 times the last two years, factored into the Rangers’ first two goals. While on the power play, his shot went off the crossbar and right to Zibanejad, who sent the puck past Andrei Vasilevskiy for the Blueshirts’ first tally of the season. Then, just over five minutes later, Dorofeyev added his first goal since joining the franchise. Oliver Bjorkstrand stole the puck from the Lightning and raced in with Dorofeyev on an odd-man rush, sliding the puck over for the winger to flip it in. 

“You want to get off to a good start at home,” Zibanejad said. “You want to feel good coming in here and making sure that we find our game, we find our identity at home. That was a good first step.” 

New York Rangers goaltender Igor Shesterkin makes a save in the second period at Madison Square Garden in New York, Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026. JASON SZENES FOR NEW YORK POST

New York Rangers goaltender Igor Shesterkin is named a star of the game after scoring the first goalie goal in franchise history at the end of the third period. JASON SZENES FOR NEW YORK POST

The Rangers added a third goal early in the second when Tolvanen sent a puck toward the net that went off a Lightning defenseman and into the net as Will Cuylle crashed into Vasilevskiy. But even after Tampa Bay got a goal back when Nikita Kucherov’s pass deflected off Noah Laba’s stick and into the net, the Rangers didn’t crumble. Rookie Alberts Smits had a strong pinch to keep a sequence alive, and it ended with Perreault deflecting an Adam Fox shot off his stick, off his skate and into the net with under four minutes remaining in the second. 

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The Rangers didn’t suffer a collapse after the Kucherov goal like they might’ve last season. Even after they needed to kill six power-play chances, they didn’t fold. And after the public retool and trade deadline sale of last season, after the new additions and majors trades of the offseason, it felt like, for 60 minutes, they had started to veer in the right direction. 

“This is a whole new team,” Sullivan said. “We’ve got a new group of players, and we’re excited about the opportunity we have in front of us. I know how much it means to these guys to win games at home. … To win the home opener, I think, is just that much more rewarding.”