theathleticuk
SEATTLE — Tye Kartye continued his impressive run with the New York Rangers, scoring his fourth goal in seven games to help secure a 4-3 victory over the Seattle Kraken at Climate Pledge Arena on Saturday. The win served as a reminder of what the Kraken let go when they placed Kartye on waivers in February.
Kartye's high-motor style has been a perfect fit in New York, where he has become a favorite of coach Mike Sullivan and a surprising fixture in the top six. The 25-year-old undrafted winger has 27 points (11 goals, 16 assists) in 42 games with the Rangers, a 54-point pace over a full season. This season, he has boosted that rate to 13 points (six goals, seven assists) in 18 games, a pace of over 60 points.
"I don't know if I'm surprised," Sullivan said. "I'm impressed. His offensive game has really developed. It's evolved."
Kartye downplayed any revenge factor against his former team. "Honestly, I couldn't care less about that," he said. "I'm with the New York Rangers, and I want to play well for the New York Rangers, so that's really not in my mind at all." Sullivan wasn't buying it. "Tye's a great kid, and he's very respectful," he said. "But I'm sure there was some fulfillment there on his part."
Twelve of Kartye's points have come at even strength, which ranked second on the team entering Saturday. That prompted Sullivan to give him a new assignment on the power play. "I asked the coaches the question: Am I crazy not to think that if he's one of our leading scorers five-on-five, that a smart coach would probably put him on the power play?" Sullivan said. "And so we had that discussion and thought we'd try him there."
Kartye made the most of the opportunity. After an apparent first-period power-play goal was overturned due to a kicking motion, he responded 40 seconds later by tipping in an Adam Fox shot for his first career power-play goal, extending New York's lead to 2-0.
"We haven't handed Tye anything," Sullivan said. "He's earned every opportunity that he's gotten through his play, and he's a great story right now. I couldn't be happier for him."
After the game, a line of Seattle players and staffers waited outside the visiting locker room to greet their former teammate. "I still know a lot of the guys," Kartye said. "The team hasn't had too much changeover, so I think playing against some old friends was definitely a little weird for me."
Third-Period Scare
The Rangers built a 4-0 lead on goals from Gabe Perreault, Kartye, Jaroslav Chmela and Pavel Dorofeyev, but nearly let it slip away in the third period. The Kraken rallied with goals from Kaapo Kakko, Jordan Eberle and Vince Dunn, outshooting New York 14-4 and generating an 8-2 advantage in high-danger chances in the final frame.
"We kind of got back on our heels, and they kept coming in waves at us," Kartye said. Sullivan emphasized the importance of managing the game with a multi-goal lead. "When you have a multi-goal lead like that going into the third, the first five minutes are really important," he said. "You can't provide any hope for your opponent there. You've got to make sure that you simplify the game, play straight ahead. We give up a goal early in the period, and I think it gave them life."
Despite the scare, the Rangers improved to 9-1 when scoring first and secured their third consecutive win.
Korpisalo Returns
Joonas Korpisalo made his season debut after missing 16 games with a foot infection, stopping 25 of 28 shots. "It felt really good," Korpisalo said. "Conditioning and all that felt awesome." His return provides relief for a Rangers team that had leaned heavily on rookie Dylan Garand, who had started 12 straight games.
"G has been playing unreal," Korpisalo said. "But you just want to be part of the team and help them get some wins." Sullivan welcomed the depth. "To get Korpi back, I think, is huge for us," he said. "He's obviously a quality goaltender. It gives us the ability to share the workload a little bit. We're excited to get him back in the mix."
Garand is expected to start Monday in Edmonton, with Korpisalo likely to get a start in Calgary or Vancouver later in the trip.
Defensive Injuries
The Rangers were without defenseman Sean Durzi for the fourth straight game due to an undisclosed injury, and rookie Alberts Ābols was a late scratch with an upper-body injury. Matthew Robertson made his season debut in his place, logging 11:14 of ice time. Sullivan leaned heavily on his top four defensemen, with Fox, Vladislav Gavrikov, Marcus Pettersson and Braden Schneider each surpassing 20 minutes. Fox has now played over 25 minutes in each of the past two games after staying under that mark in each of the first 16.
Originally reported by theathleticuk.