NEW YORK (AP) — Rangers goalie Igor Shesterkin was pulled in the second period against the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday night after giving up five goals on 12 shots.
The 28-year-old Russian, who entered the contest with a 6-2-1 with a 2.22 goals-against average, allowed a goal by Sabres captain Rasmus Dahlin 26 seconds into the game.
He then gave up four goals in the second period — including three in a span of 2:12 span — as the Sabres took a 5-0 lead. Dylan Cozens, Tage Thompson, Jordan Greenway and Sam Lafferty scored in the middle period before Shesterkin was replaced by Jonathan Quick with 6:09 to go after Lafferty scored.
The Sabres went on to beat the Rangers 6-1.
“It really unraveled in the second,″ Rangers defenseman and captain Jacob Trouba said. “Our goalie has kind of kept us in this thing for the first 12 games. We’ve got to be better and give up less quality chances.”
The Rangers, who fell to 8-3-1 this season, have been winning largely because of Shesterkin's stellar play.
“This certainly was not our best,″ Rangers defenseman Adam Fox said. ”We left him out to dry. It’s not good enough.”
Shesterkin won the Vezina Trophy as the league’s best goaltender in 2021-22 when he was 36-13-4 with a 2.07 goals against average. He won 37 games in 2022-23 and 36 last season as the Rangers finished with the NHL’s best record.
Shesterkin is in the final season of a four-year, $22.67 million contract and there has been talk of him wanting to be the highest-paid goaltender in NHL history.
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New York Rangers goaltender Igor Shesterkin (31) and Adam Fox react as Buffalo Sabres' Jordan Greenway (12) celebrates with teammates after scoring a goal during the second period of an NHL hockey game Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
U.S. markets are broadly lower before the opening bell in what's expected to be thin holiday trading.
Futures for the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.4% in the early hours Thursday. Markets were closed Wednesday for the Christmas holiday.
The government's weekly update on U.S. unemployment benefit applications will get some attention.
While it did little to boost Netflix's stock, the streaming giant was the talk of Christmas with its broadcast of back-to-back NFL matchups on Christmas, highlighted by Beyoncé's nearly 13-minute performance at halftime of the Houston Texans 31-2 loss to the Baltimore Ravens.
Unlike some of its other recent live events, Netflix's broadcast went off glitch-free, becoming the second-most popular live title ever for streaming service, according to NFL Media.
U.S. markets have historically gotten a boost at year's end, despite usually lower trading volumes. The last five trading days of each year, plus the first two in the new year, have brought an average gain of 1.3% since 1950.
So far this month, the U.S. stock market has lost some of its gains since President-elect Donald Trump’s win on Election Day, which raised hopes for faster economic growth and more lax regulations that would boost corporate profits. Worries have risen that Trump’s preference for tariffs and other policies could lead to higher inflation, a bigger U.S. government debt and difficulties for global trade.
Even so, the U.S. market remains on pace to deliver strong returns for 2024. The benchmark S&P 500 is up 26.6% so far this year and remains within roughly 1% of the all-time high it set earlier this month — its latest of 57 record highs this year.
Japan's Nikkei 225 index surged 1.1% to 39,568.06, on strong gains in retailers and tourism-related stocks after Japan agreed to ease visa conditions for Chinese tourists.
Isetan Mitsukoshi Holdings, a major department store group, gained 7.7%. J. Front Retailing Co., owner of the Matsuzakaya and Daimaru department store groups, jumped 8.3%. Automakers also saw large gains.
China and Japan also agreed Wednesday to conduct talks on contentious security issues and other sources of friction during a visit by Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya to Beijing, where he met with Chinese Premier Li Qiang and Foreign Minister Wang Yi.
South Korea's Kospi slipped 0.4% to 2,429.67, while the Taiex in Taiwan gained 0.1%.
The Shanghai Composite index edged 0.1% higher, to 3,398.08.
Thailand's SET fell 0.1%.
Major European markets are closed Thursday, as well as Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand and Indonesia.
U.S. benchmark crude oil rose 40 cents to $70.50 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, picked up 36 cents to $73.53 per barrel.
The dollar rose to 157.65 Japanese yen from 157.19 yen. The euro fell to $1.0398 from $1.0410.
FIL:E - The New York Stock Exchange is shown in New York's Financial District on Dec. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan, File)
FIL:E - People photograph the New York Stock Exchange in New York's Financial District on Dec. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan, File)
Lights marking the entrance to a subway station frame the New York Stock Exchange in New York's Financial District on Monday, Dec. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan)
People walk in front of Tokyo Stock Exchange building Wednesday, Dec. 25, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
Currency traders watch monitors near a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), top left, and the foreign exchange rate between the U.S. dollar and the South Korean won, top center, at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
Currency traders work at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
A currency trader talks to another near a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), top left, and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won, top center, at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
A currency trader watches monitors near a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), left, and the foreign exchange rate between the U.S. dollar and the South Korean won at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
