New York Rangers at Seattle Kraken

Panarin scores two goals lifting Rangers over Kraken 4-1

Kaapo Kakko and Alexis Lafreniere also scored for the Rangers while Jonathan Quick, signed in the offseason as New York’s backup goalie, had 18 saves in his first start for the team.

“Everyone worked, and then we had luck on our side as well,” Panarin said. “Good bounces, good goals.”

Justin Schultz scored for the Kraken, who have scored one goal or fewer in four of their five games this season. Philipp Grubauer had 23 saves.

The Rangers were coming off a 4-1 home loss against Nashville.

“We had a tough last game. We just had to bounce back and this was the best scenario for what could happen,” Chytil said. “It was a good game for us today.”

Schultz gave the Kraken a 1-0 lead with a one-timer from the left circle midway through the first period, his first goal of the season.

The Rangers tied it up less than four minutes later on Panarin’s first goal.

New York scored a pair in the second period to go up 3-1.

With about seven minutes left in the second, Grubauer wasn’t able to control a shot by Jacob Trouba as the puck got past him into the crease, where Kakko was able to knock it into the net. LaFreniere scored his second goal of the season with two minutes left in the period.

“We didn’t execute very well,” Seattle coach Dave Hakstol said. “We weren’t moving, and we didn’t have a lot of pace to our game. You saw that five on five, you saw that on our power play opportunities. The sharpness and crispness was not there.”

Panarin scored again 5 1/2 minutes into the third period, corralling a bouncing puck and firing it past Grubauer.

GOING DARK

The game was delayed briefly right after the start as a bank of lights was out. As the game started, the Rangers defensive zone was noticeably dimmer than the rest of the ice.

The game was halted after about a minute of play, and after a wait of about 10 minutes the game resumed without the lights coming back on. The teams switched sides at the midway point of each period due to the lighting issue.

Players on both teams downplayed the effect of the lighting issue, although Panarin joked that he sabotaged the lights. “For me, I want it darker so it’s harder for goalies. That’s why I scored two,” he said.

Game notes

Kraken F Andre Burakovsky left the game early in the second period after being pushed into the boards by Trouba. Burakovsky got up gingerly after the hit and did not return. Hakstol said he would wait until Sunday to determine Burakovsky’s status.

“I don’t think it’s going to be something that’s real short term,” Hakstol said.

This was the first game of a five-game road trip for the Rangers, their longest of the season. “Five games on the road is a long time,” Kakko said. “First win feels good.”

UP NEXT:

Rangers: At Calgary on Tuesday.

Kraken: At Detroit on Tuesday.

NYR lead series 1-0