The New York Rangers acquired star forward Vladimir Tarasenko on Thursday. On Friday, the veteran goal scorer made his debut in front of the Madison Square Garden faithful. And what a debut it was.

Tarasenko scored the team's first goal of the game on his first shot as a New York player. His goal kicked off an eventual 6-3 win over the Seattle Kraken, the fourth straight victory for the Rangers.

After the game, Tarasenko tried to put everything he'd experienced in the last 24 hours into words. “It’s a lot of emotions, not gonna lie,” he said. “It was amazing.”

Tarasenko skated on a line with longtime friend Artemi Panarin on Friday. It's a pairing the Rangers hope brings immense success. While Tarasenko's goal was the highlight of their night, there is confidence this is just the beginning. “We hope more coming,” Tarasenko said. “We can still play better, know each other better.”

Tarasenko's name echoed through Madison Square Garden after his goal on Friday. The 31-year-old forward was taken aback by the gesture from Rangers fans in the aftermath of his goal.

“I was thinking I was mishearing,” he said. “It's different because as a visitor you really don't hear the crowd. This was exciting!”

“It's my first time getting traded in the NHL, like I spent 11 years in one city,″ Tarasenko continued. “The guys give us a very warm welcome. Crazy day.”

The Rangers traded forward Sammy Blais, defenseman Hunter Skinner, and two conditional draft picks to the St. Louis Blues for Tarasenko. New York also received defenseman Niko Mikkola in the deal.

Tarasenko spent his entire career with the Blues prior to Thursday's trade. He helped the team win their first Stanley Cup in franchise history back in 2019.