A little over 24 hours after his trade to the New York Rangers was announced, forward Vladimir Tarasenko scored on his debut in a 6-3 win over the Seattle Kraken. Off a turnover from Seattle forward Ryan Donato, the Rangers sprung forward with the puck on the stick of Artemi Panarin.
But it was Tarasenko who was lauded by the Ranger faithful at Madison Square Garden as fans chanted his name throughout ‘The World’s Most Famous Arena’. For his efforts, Tarasenko was named the first star of the game for the Rangers.
Panarin slid the puck across to his fellow Russian Tarasenko, who tipped it in past goaltender Martin Jones to go up 1-0 just 2:49 into the first period. The new acquisition finished the night with the one goal to his name as new teammates Kaapo Kakko, Vincent Trocheck, Jacob Trouba, Ryan Lindgren and Mika Zibanejad all contributed to the score sheet.
‘I don’t think I’ve ever experienced this in my life. It’s my first time getting traded in the NHL, like I spent 11 years in one city,’ Tarasenko said. ‘The guys give us a very warm welcome. … Crazy day though.’
According to ESPN, Tarasenko became the second mid-season acquisition to score just three minutes into his debut over the past five seasons. German forward Dominik Kahun scored less than two-and-a-half minutes into his debut with the Buffalo Sabres back in February of 2020.
Tarasenko admitted that he was surprised by the warm reception from the fans as his name echoed around the rink. ‘I was thinking I was mishearing,’ he said. ‘It’s different because as a visitor you really don’t hear the crowd. This was exciting!’
