In Ottawa, Artemi Panarin‘s power play goal goal in the middle frame proved to the game-winner for the York Rangers in a 2-1 decision over the Senators on Sunday. 
“He’s a great player. He’s a star player for us,” Rangers head coach Gerard Gallant said. “He makes those great passes and tonight he shoots the puck and buries the winning goal on the power play. He’s a big part of our group and obviously when the power play is going like they’re going, and to win another hockey game for us tonight, that’s huge.”
Igor Shesterkin made 29 saves in the New York win.
“He’s been great from the first game he’s played,” Gallant said. “He’s outstanding, he makes strong saves for us, he’s a key guy on our hockey team. So when we have a letdown, he bails us out.”
The Rangers improved to 32-13.
Tim Stutzle scored the Sens only goal in the first period to give them a 1-0 lead.
“I thought we stayed in the fight,” Senators head coach D.J. Smith said. “I thought [in the] third period we gave ourselves some looks. We don’t get the result we want, but you really can’t be down on anybody.”
The Senators fell to 18-26-5.
“He (Stutzle) looks confident. He has the puck a lot and he’s shooting,” Smith said. “He’s learning to play within the game. His detail of his game is getting better defensively. He just looks dangerous.”
Ryan Strome tied the game, 1-1, with a first first period goal off a rebound.
“We come to the game, every game, expecting that we have the ability to get two points,” Strome said. “I thought tonight was a good example of that. I thought everyone did what we needed to do to win. Some gutsy efforts.”
Shesterkin missed a shot on the empty-net late in the third, it missed by inches.
“The sound [from the bench] was getting louder and louder as the puck got closer to the crease,” Strome said. “It’s just a matter of time; [Shesterkin is] going to stick with it. … It’s not just trying to score goals; the plays he makes and the breakout passes are just spectacular. He’s probably a better passer than 75 to 80 percent of our team. I think guys would openly admit that too.”
Filip Gustavsson made 31 saves in the Ottawa loss.
“I thought I gave the team a chance today to win the game,” Gustavsson said.
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