Tye Kartye found out the Rangers claimed him off waivers around 11 a.m. Friday.
Twenty-five and a half hours later, the 24-year-old wing made his Blueshirts debut at Madison Square Garden.
“It was pretty crazy,” Kartye said after the Rangers took a 3-2 shootout win over the Penguins Saturday afternoon. “Hustled to make a 2:45 p.m. flight, packed what I could and then got here. It was kind of nice, just slept, woke up and came to play.”
Kartye is the second player the Rangers claimed off waivers this season, with Vincent Iorio serving as the first at the end of January.
The Rangers are actively looking for young players with an upside and Kartye fits the type of skater they want to add to their bottom six.
Lining up on the third unit next to Noah Laba and Brendan Brisson, Kartye posted two shots on goal in 12:39 of ice time.
Kartye said he envisions his Rangers role being similar to the style he played on Saturday, noting his physicality, forechecking and “being in good spots.” He also hopes to chip in offensively when he can.
In his third NHL season, Kartye has three goals and five assists through 41 games so far.
“He came as advertised,” head coach Mike Sullivan said of his first impression of Kartye. “[General manager Chris Drury] talked to me about his motor and his ability to help us in the puck pursuit game, getting in on the forecheck, disrupting plays, making it hard on opponents’ breakout options, things of that nature. He has some physicality to his game. We didn’t use him on the penalty kill tonight, but I would anticipate getting him involved with that moving forward. It’s just hard, we haven’t had a chance to really work with him yet with that, so I didn’t want to put him in a tough spot. Moving forward, I would anticipate him being involved in the penalty kill, but I thought he had a good game for us.
“For a guy that gets the news yesterday, travels all the way across the country and then has to lace them up in a 12:30 game. That’s not an easy thing to do, but I thought he played really well.”
In his second game in New York, Brendan Brisson notched his first point as a Ranger with the secondary assist on Taylor Raddysh’s game-tying third-period goal.
Defenseman Scott Morrow appeared in his first game since Jan. 31, replacing Iorio on the right side of Matthew Robertson. Saturday’s shootout win counted as his 29th game of the 2025-26 season, as well as the 45th of his NHL career.
Iorio, who the Rangers claimed off waivers from the Sharks on Jan. 31, was scratched for the first time since becoming a Blueshirt.
Goalie Igor Shesterkin got the starting nod Saturday against the Penguins, marking his 36th start of the season.
Turning aside 31 of the 32 shots he faced, Shesterkin picked up his 18th victory of the 2025-26 campaign.