Keller scores 2nd goal in OT, Utah tops Rangers to stay undefeated
Forward wins it at 4:05; Panarin gets 2 goals for New York
Keller, who also had an assist, skated with the puck behind the net before roofing a shot over Igor Shesterkin's shoulder.
"It's something I kind of like to do in tight and I had a little space," Keller said. "[The Rangers] kind of all backed off on me. My first look was [Mikhail Sergachev] and it kind of went toward him, so I just started taking it to the net and did something I'm comfortable with."
Barrett Hayton had a goal and an assist for Utah (3-0-0), which was coming off a 5-4 come-from-behind overtime win at the New York Islanders on Thursday. Connor Ingram made 29 saves.
"I think it honestly goes back to that game on Long Island, kind of the resilience we showed," Hayton said. "[I] think having the confidence from that and the way we responded there kind of carried over this one. I think we put ourselves in a couple positions we'd rather not be in, but at the same time, they're a [heck] of a team over there. So, just shows a lot of resilience out of our group."
Artemi Panarin scored twice, and Adam Fox had three assists for New York (1-0-1). Shesterkin made 20 saves.
"We're generating offense but we've got to keep the puck out of the net," Rangers forward Chris Kreider said. "Got to help our goaltender. Two games now he was making some pretty ridiculous saves, so got to shore up our own end."
Dylan Guenther gave Utah a 5-3 lead with a power-play goal at 13:59 of the second period. He has five goals in a season-opening three-game goal streak.
Braden Schneider cut it to 5-4 at 17:59, skating down the left wing and beating Ingram short side under his blocker.
Will Cuylle then tied it 5-5 at 12:56 of the third period with a deflection in front.
"There were mistakes there. They are a fast, skilled team and they capitalized on that," Fox said. "I thought especially that third period we played really well. Offensively we were creating a lot, but you give them a little bit of room and some chances and some breakdowns like with that first goal … they capitalize."
Hayton gave Utah a 1-0 lead at 3:43 of the first period, converting from in close near the left circle off a cross-ice pass from Nick Schmaltz. Hayton has three goals in three games this season after he scored three goals in 33 games last season.
"I think last year was tough for me, missing a lot of time," Hayton said. "At the same time, you're watching a lot of games and learning a lot of stuff, so you've just got a different perspective. So, I think I took some of that into the offseason and also to start this season, and some of it has paid off."
Panarin tied it 1-1 at 8:38 with a wrist shot in the slot off a drop pass from Alexis Lafreniere.
Jack McBain put Utah back in front 2-1 at 1:48 of the second period, stuffing in a rebound at the side of the net.
Panarin responded again to tie it 2-2 at 3:51. He scored a power-play goal on a wrist shot from the left circle.
The Rangers appeared to take a 3-2 lead at 4:54 when Victor Mancini scored on a shot through traffic. However, the call on the ice was no goal because of goalie interference on Rangers forward Matt Rempe, which was upheld after New York used a coach's challenge.
Keller did give Utah a 3-2 lead at 6:02 of the second. With the teams skating at 4-on-4, Rangers defenseman K'Andre Miller turned the puck over behind the net to Alex Kerfoot, who fed Keller in front.
"Sometimes when you put the puck on the net, good things happen," Keller said. "And we have a lot of skill, a lot of guys that can shoot it. And we're just going to keep doing what makes us successful."
Kevin Stenlund pushed the lead to 4-2 at 8:38 with a wrist shot from the right circle.
"We have a team with talent, but for us, the battle is to get inside, to get in dirty areas, get those greasy goals, those tipped rebounds, screens, those kind of things," Utah coach Andre Tourigny said. "... So I think we're, we're a threat at passing the puck, but we're a bigger threat right now going into net and getting those in-tight goals."
Miller got the Rangers to within 4-3 at 9:18 of second when his dump-in hit off the end boards and ricocheted into the net with Ingram behind the goal waiting to play the puck.
NOTES: Guenther and Hayton became the fifth and sixth players in the NHL's modern era (since 1943-44) to score at least one goal in each of a franchise's first three games. The others were James Neal (Vegas Golden Knights, four games, 2017-18), Billy Harris (New York Islanders, three games, 1972-73), Kent Douglas (Oakland Seals, three games, 1967-68), and Larry Keenan (St. Louis Blues, three games, 1967-68). … Utah has scored 16 goals through its first three games, the third-most by a franchise in NHL history. Only the Toronto Arenas (27 in 1917-18) and the Montreal Canadiens (23 in 1917-18) scored more. … Lafreniere, who was playing his 300th NHL game, had an assist and two shots on goal in 23:41 of ice time.
