In New York, the Rangers did not play their best game of the season, but found ways to score, and Igor Shesterkin made 33 saves for a 6-0 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday night.
It was Shesterkin’s second shutout of the season, first since early November.
“It meant a lot for me, of course,” Shesterkin said. “I miss that taste and I am so happy right now.”
Mika Zibanejad put the Rangers up, 1-0, in the first period on a quick snap shot from the slot.
Artemi Panarin, who hit for a double on the night, then scored off the power play to give New York a 2-0 advantage coming out of the first period.
“They controlled the first period a little bit, but we took advantage of our chances,” Rangers coach Gerard Gallant said. “Igor made some good saves, probably frustrated them a little bit, and we buried our chances. That was the difference in the game.”
In the middle frame, it was all Rangers as they potted four goals for a 6-0 lead near the midway point of the game.
Patrick Kane had two set up assists in the win.
“We’re building chemistry,” Kane said. “I know a lot of guys have been here a long time, but there are still some new players here that are getting accustomed to everything. It seems like we’re just building every day, every game.”
Vladimir Tarasenko finished off a give-and take with Zibanejad by taking a slap shot from the low right wing form a 3-0 lead.
Chris Kreider then scored off a tip in of a perfect feed off the backhand from Kane for a 4-0 advantage.
“You know ‘Kreids’ drives the net,” Kane said of Kreider. “I tried to chip it over at first and it got blocked, but I knew he was going backdoor, so you just try to get it to him on his forehand. He’s not going to miss too many of those.”
Jacob Trouba then pushed the lead to 5-0 off a glancing shot of Pens goalie Casey DeSmith’s helmet.
“I don’t think you’re going to look at tonight as an example of how we’ve played lately,” Penguins captain Sidney Crosby said. “We’ve played pretty good hockey lately. Tonight, obviously, was tough. We weren’t good and it showed on the scoreboard.”
Pittsburgh dropped to 34-25-10 on their third straight loss.
“For all intents and purposes, we’re in the playoffs right now and that’s how we feel, we’re in the playoffs right now,” Pens coach Mike Sullivan said. “We’ve got an opportunity to solidify a playoff spot. That’s what we’re trying to do. We’re trying to keep our eye on the ball that’s right in front of us.
“Tonight, it was the Rangers. It didn’t go our way. The reality is nothing’s changed. We still have control of our destiny. We’ve got to go out, get ready and win the next game.”
Panrin then finished his double off another perfect setup from Kane on the left side of the cage for the 6-0 final.
“I mean, you win 6-0, I think it says a lot of good things,” Kane said. “Igor maybe hid some of our mistakes a little bit, but it was a good team effort.”
The Rangers laid back in third and protected the shutout bid for Shesterkin.
Use CodePHN15
Tristan Jarry got the start for Pittsburgh, and made 13 saves before getting the hook in the second period, he surrendered four goals.
DeSmith made five saves in a mop up role.
You must be logged in to post a comment.