The Rangers opened their season with a 6-4 win against the Winnipeg Jets at Madison Square Garden.

Five things to know from Thursday's game

1) Marc Staal lit the lamp with 8:25 left in the first period, the first goal of the season for the 2019-20 Rangers. Staal made a great wrap-around move to beat Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck, breaking a scoreless tie. With 2:37 left in the first period, thought, the Jets tied the game with a Mark Scheifele goal. The Rangers carelessly turned the pick over in their own zone to set up the Winnipeg goal.

2) At the start of the second period, the Rangers struck quickly to retake the lead, as prized free agent addition Artemi Panarin found the back of the net just 27 seconds into the period. Right away, though, the Jets answered back. Thirty seconds after Panarin's goal, Blake Wheeler beat Henrik Lundqvist to tie the game at 2-2.

Watching Panarin score @TheGarden is a little more fun now. pic.twitter.com/t4rQe5nuSD
- New York Rangers (@NYRangers) October 4, 2019

3) With just under 14 minutes left in the second, another Ranger tallied his first goal as a member of the team. After a great pass from behind the net from Chris Kreider, Jacob Trouba scored. To make it even sweeter, it came against his former team. But there wasn't much time for fans to celebrate, as Wheeler tied the game again, this time just nine seconds after the Rangers' goal.

4) After the Jets took their first lead of the game early in the third, this time it was the Rangers' turn to answer back. A great outlet pass from Trouba opened the door for Mika Zibanejad to find the back of the net with 15 minutes to play in the third. Then, with just over four minutes to play, Brett Howden lit the lamp to give the Rangers a 5-4 lead.

5) Henrik Lundqvist did not have an overly impressive night between the pipes for the Rangers, but he was good enough to get the win. He stopped 41 shots, but he allowed four goals, the third of which seemed like a weak goal. But when it mattered most, he stepped up. After Jesper Fast was called for a holding penalty with 1:37 left in the game, the Jets had time for one final chance. After pulling the goalie, Lundqvist stood tall, and Brendan Smith added an empty-netter.

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