In Newark, the New York Rangers’ Igor Shesterkin made 27 saves to earn his first NHL shutout, 3-0, over the Devils on Tuesday night.
Pavel Buchnevich’s empty-net goal was the 20,000th goal for the New York Rangers franchise
The win keeps the Rangers within four points of the Boston Bruins for the fourth spot in the division.
“I want to thank all the players who played in front of me and blocked shots, especially at the end when it was so meaningful to me to get this win and the shutout,” Shesterkin said. “They did it for me and I’m thankful.”
The Bruins defeated the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday, 3-2, after the skills competition.
“I thought we played a lot differently [in the third period], and for the first time all year I didn’t go in between periods,” Rangers head coach David Quinn said. “[Defenseman Jacob] Trouba kind of took over and maybe that’s our new recipe … me staying out of the locker room.”
The Rangers improved to 20-16-6.
“[The Devils and Sabres] play hard, they have a bunch of guys on their roster trying to prove themselves and they’re going to make it very difficult,” Quinn said. “I really believe that how teams in the playoff battles approach their games with Buffalo [and] New Jersey, is going to go a long way in determining who makes the Stanley Cup Playoffs.”
Pavel Buchnevich scored into an empty-net late in the third period, it the Rangers franchise’s 20,000th goal.
Mika Zibanejad scored in the opening frame after a break down of the Devils defense that allowed him skate in uncontested.
“When the puck goes in, you get a little more confident,” Zibanejad said. “I feel like the puck is going in now and that’s nice to be able to contribute.”
Artemi Panarin doubled the lead in the period.
“If you’re going to have success at any point, your goalie has to be good,” Quinn said. “He’s (Shesterkin) just calm, knows where the net is, doesn’t waste a lot of energy, he’s competitive and it’s why he’s had so much success at every level.”
Mackenzie Blackwood made 17 saves in the loss.
“I think the only disappointing part to me in a game where we skated well and battled hard was some of our net-front battles for second opportunities, our net-front battles to create screens,” Devils coach Lindy Ruff said. “We got to get better at that.”
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