Buchnevich, Rangers snuff Coyotes
NEW YORK -- Pavel Buchnevich scored twice as the New York Rangers kept the Arizona Coyotes winless with a 5-2 victory at Madison Square Garden on Thursday night.
Michael Grabner also had two goals, adding an empty-netter with 35.6 seconds remaining to seal the win. Chris Kreider had the other goal for the Rangers (3-6-2), who received 27 saves from backup goaltender Ondrej Pavelec in his second start of the season.
New York center Boo Nieves had three assists in his season debut.
Anthony Duclair and Clayton Keller scored for the Coyotes (0-9-1). Goaltender Adin Hill took the loss, allowing four goals on 29 shots.
Kreider's second goal of the season at 8:01 of the first period put the Rangers ahead 1-0. Mats Zuccarello made the play happen, drawing the attention of two defenders and delivering a no-look backhand pass to the slot for Kreider's easy goal.
Buchnevich scored a gift goal at 15:57 of the first. His long shot from the left boards that should have been a routine save slipped past the catching glove of Hill to extend the Rangers' lead to 2-0.
Duclair gave the Coyotes hope when banged home a loose puck in the slot at 5:13 of the second period to make it 2-1, but the one-goal difference was brief.
Grabner's goal 46 seconds later off a Coyotes defensive breakdown increased the lead to 3-1. Nieves found Grabner all alone in the slot, and Grabner deked from backhand to forehand and stashed the puck into the open net for his second of the season.
Another Hill gaffe resulted in another New York goal. The goaltender ventured to the slot to play the puck, but a turnover led to Buchnevich scoring into a vacated net to make it 4-1 at 13:56 of the second.
Keller's rookie-leading seventh goal at 3:53 of the third period drew the Coyotes to within 4-2. His seam pass bounced right back to him, which allowed him to roof a shot into a yawning net with Pavelec out of position during a power play.
NOTES: Former Coyotes RW Shane Doan, who retired in the offseason after 21 seasons with the club, joined the NHL's hockey operations department Thursday. Doan is expected to stay in Arizona with his family. ... Coyotes C Derek Stepan, who spent nine seasons in the Rangers organization before a trade to Arizona in the offseason, was given a warm welcome from fans after a video tribute was shown on the scoreboard. ... Coyotes G Antti Raanta, also a former Ranger, practiced Wednesday but has not played since Oct. 12 due to a lower-body injury. ... Rangers LW Rick Nash played in his 1,000th career regular-season game. ... Rangers D Marc Staal played in his 700th career regular-season game.