Korpisalo Wins Rangers Debut as New York Survives Kraken's Three-Goal Third-Period Surge 4-3

For forty minutes in Seattle on Saturday night, everything went the New York Rangers' way. They scored early, they scored often, and they chased the home goaltender before the first period was even over. Then the third period arrived, and Joonas Korpisalo found out exactly what life as a Ranger is going to feel like. Korpisalo, making his season debut after missing the first 17 games with a lower-body injury suffered in training camp, stopped 25 shots and earned his first win with the club as New York held on to beat the Seattle Kraken 4-3 at Climate Pledge Arena. It was the Rangers' third straight win and the opener of a four-game trip out west. It was also, by the end, far closer than anyone in a blue sweater would have liked. The Rangers needed just 95 seconds to open the scoring. Gabe Perreault tracked down a loose puck in the left corner, worked it below the goal line, and after a chain of passes involving Mika Zibanejad and Alexis Lafreniere, Perreault himself lifted a shot from the bottom of the left faceoff circle over Joey Daccord's glove and into the far upper corner. It was 1-0, and the visitors were just getting started. Tye Kartye, a former Kraken forward, doubled the lead at 9:05 of the first, tipping Adam Fox's shot from the blue line over Daccord's blocker. The goal came barely half a minute after Kartye had one taken away by video review, a small frustration erased almost immediately. Jaroslav Chmelar made it 3-0 at 13:53, and Daccord's night was over, pulled after allowing three goals on ten shots. Philipp Grubauer came on in relief and stopped 15 of the 16 shots he faced, but the damage was done. Pavel Dorofeyev, another former Kraken man, beat Grubauer with a backhander from the slot at 12:46 of the second, assisted by Zibanejad and Lafreniere, and the Rangers carried a 4-0 lead into the third. Zibanejad and Lafreniere finished with two assists apiece, and for two periods the Rangers looked like a team that had finally found its road game. They had come into the night 1-5-1 away from Madison Square Garden. This was supposed to be the easy part. Seattle had other ideas. Kaapo Kakko started the comeback at 1:50 of the third, Jordan Eberle scored on the power play at 6:38, and when Vince Dunn buried a one-timer with 4:58 left, it was 4-3 and Climate Pledge Arena was roaring. The Kraken outshot New York 14-4 in the final period, and in the closing minutes Zibanejad had to block a big shot just to keep the lead intact. Korpisalo, who had kept Seattle off the board through forty minutes, stood his ground while the game tilted. Berkly Catton had two assists for the Kraken, who dropped to 9-5-1 and now board a flight for Helsinki, where they will face the defending Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes in the NHL's Global Series on Thursday and Saturday. The Rangers, 9-7-1, do not get much time to enjoy this one either. They are in Edmonton on Monday, and if the third period in Seattle taught them anything, it is that a four-goal lead is never quite as safe as it looks.