Shesterkin, Kreider lift Rangers over Maple Leafs

TORONTO (AP) — Chris Kreider scored twice and Igor Shesterkin stopped 34 shots as the New York Rangers beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-1 on Saturday night.

Alexis Lafreniere and Artemi Panarin also scored for the Rangers, and Mika Zibanejad and Reilly Smith each had two assists. New York improved to 4-0-1 on the season.

Auston Matthews scored for Toronto and Anthony Stolarz finished with 25 saves.

Shesterkin made a number of big stops throughout the night, including on John Tavares and a two on William Nylander.

Matthews, who led the NHL with 69 goals last season, broke the Russian goalie's shutout bid in the third period when he cut New York’s lead to 2-1 before Kreider and Panarin scored empty-netters.

The Maple Leafs snapped an 0-for-9 run on the power play with two goals against the Los Angeles Kings in Wednesday’s 6-2 victory, but were 0 for 3 against the Rangers to drop to 2 for 16 on the season.

The Rangers have won their first three road games to start a season for just the third time in franchise history — and for the first time in 92 years. New York also accomplished the feat in 1927-28 and 1931-32.

Leafs forward Max Domi passed up a terrific opportunity to shoot on a 3-on-1 in the second before Kreider made it 2-0 moments later on a delayed penalty off a slick pass from Zibanejad.

Lafreniere has at least point in each of the first five games, tying Tomas Sandstrom (1986-87) and Mike McEwen (1978-79) for the second-longest season-opening point streak by a Rangers player age 23 or younger. Darren Turcotte (1990-91) tops the list with an 11-game run.

Maple Leafs host Tampa Bay on Monday night to finish a four-game homestand, and Rangers visit Montreal on Tuesday to conclude a three-game trip.

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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl