One of the things that makes Kenny Albert so great is that he has a feel for the dramatic. Aside from being one of the best broadcasters who doubles as the lead announcer for the NHL on TNT and works on the NFL on Fox, Albert usually can tell when something is about to happen.

Case in point, look no further than last night. With the Rangers comfortably in front of the Lightning in the home opener at The Garden, Jon Cooper lifted Andrei Vasilevskiy early with his team trailing 4-1. By taking the Vezina winner out with over four minutes to play, that meant the Rangers had more chances to score into a vacated net. While it was understandable why Cooper went for the 6-on-5 attack, the odds of a miraculous three-goal comeback were stacked against the Bolts.

Of course, when it comes to the NHL, anything’s possible. Crazy things have happened before when teams pulled the goalie. We’ve seen teams pull a magic rabbit out of the hat by scoring twice to come back from two goals down with less than three minutes remaining. However, it isn’t the norm. A lot has to go right for it to happen. The puck has to bounce your way.

While Albert was calling the game with Dave Maloney on MSG Networks, he called his own shot by accurately predicting that Igor Shesterkin could score due to the amount of time left. After both Jake Guentzel and Nikita Kucherov came close to making it 4-2, the Rangers cleared the zone. As the Lightning were transitioning back up the ice, Albert said:

“This would be the perfect opportunity for Igor if he gets control of the puck.”

Several minutes later, Shesterkin took a puck that came right to him off the back boards and went for it. He made franchise history by becoming the first Rangers goalie to score a goalie goal. He’s the 18th different netminder in NHL history to score a goal. It’s the 21st time it’s happened. Albert’s call was perfect.

“Shesterkin will shoot for the empty net! He scores! He scores! Igor has done it! The first Ranger goaltender to score a goal.“

Of course, Albert had the insight that it could happen. Shesterkin has always been very aggressive when the opportunity has been there. A goalie who doesn’t mind coming out and handling the puck, he’s shot for the empty net before, but never scored before Thurday night.

A night that’ll be remembered forever by the Rangers and their fans. October 2, 2026.