Shesterkin stars in a wild 2-1 shootout win over Boston

There’s only one word to describe the end of this game. It was insane.  In the most unlikely of events, New York Rangers goalie Igor Shesterkin had to leave the game with 41 seconds left in overtime to undergo concussion protocol, but returned in time to win in a nine-round shootout.  It transformed a 1-1 defensive battle into one of the most memorable wins of the season.

With only one power play per team this was five on five contest, not the Rangers’ biggest strength, but they hung in after allowing a first period goal.  They finally got the tying goal in the third period and after the overtime shenanigans, won that marathon skills contest.

Shesterkin was stellar in net, but some of the other heroes were unlikely as Filip Chytil netted the tying goal and K’Andre Miller scored the winning goal in the shootout.

The concussion protocol situation was pretty crazy.  At 2:48 of overtime, Craig Smith ran Shesterkin on a shot attempt, bowling over the goalie.  A fracas ensued and Shesterkin looked shaken up, but was fine to continue. He played another 1:31, making a glove save on a Taylor Hall shot when the trainer Jim Ramsay came out and told him he had to be checked out.  Alexandar  Georgiev had to come in cold for the final 41 seconds of OT and a possible shootout.  Shesterkin was upset and slammed his stick into the glass on the way off the ice.

With the faceoff on the Boston zone, the Rangers were able to control play and Georgiev didn’t have to face a shot.  With seven seconds left the Blueshirts called  a timeout, an obvious stalling tactic before the shootout (though Gallant denied that).

With the shootout about to start, Shesterkin returned to the ice to a thrilled crowd and went on to stop seven of nine shot attempts.

This game could be a foreshadow of what the Rangers will face in the playoffs.  If so, this has to be chalked up as a positive as it was the third line that came though along with the goaltender.  The top players chipped in with Mika Zibanejad and Artemi Panarin scoring in the shootout.

This game is going to make Chris Drury’s job harder as  he tries to figure out what moves to make on the trade market.  If Chytil can use this game as a springboard to a good stretch, it will either enhance his trade value or make him difficult to surrender.

Even more important was the play of the rookie defense tandem of Zac Jones and Braden Schneider.  They looked totally comfortable playing together got a lot of ice time in important situations.  It was a breakout pass from Jones to Schneider that set up the third period tying goal.

Gallant was asked to assess their game,  “Good, they were solid, they moved the puck, I was happy with them.”

With heavy rumors circulating about the Rangers looking for a third pair defenseman, if Zones and Schneider keeps this up, Drury won’t have to sacrifice important assets in a trade.

These Rangers keep finding ways to win and this was another game against a playoff team that they didn’t lose.  They solidified their hold on third place in the Metropolitan Division and drew within one point of the Hurricanes.  The magical season keeps going.

Notes on the game

With the win, the Rangers improved their record to 31-13-4.  Their 66 points put them in third place in the Met Division, one point behind Carolina who has two games in hand.

The Rangers home record is now 16-4-2.  In the Eastern Conference, only Florida has fewer losses than  the Rangers, with three.  They are third in  home wins in the East as well.

The win improved their record against Atlantic Division teams to 13-2.  Gaining 26 of 30 possible points, their only two losses were to Toronto and Florida.

The nine round shootout was the fourth longest in franchise history and the longest for the Rangers since an 11-round loss to Tampa in December 2010.  The longest was an NHL record setting 15 round shootout against Washington in November 2005.  The Caps and Florida set the current record of 20 rounds in December 2014.

It was the longest shootout win since a 13-round win over Philadelphia in October 2006.

It was Igor Shesterkin’s third shootout win this season.  He is tied for the league lead in that category. He has stopped 14 of 18 shots this season.  His 14 shootout saves are the most of any NHL goalie.

Shesterkin has now won 23 games, fifth most in the NHL.  His .938 save percentage leads the league and his goals against average of 2.05 is one one-hundredth of a point behind Frederik Andersen of the Hurricanes.

The Rangers have played 43 games on February 15 and this was the first time that they have won in a shootout or overtime.

Adam Fox returned to the lineup and led all Rangers in TOI, playing 24:24. He had four shots on goal, most of any defenseman.  He didn’t miss a beat and almost scored on a neat move in the third period.<

/li>

The Rangers outhit the Bruins 36-25 and Ryan Reaves led all Blueshirts with eight hits.

This was only the fourth time the Rangers had only one power play in a game. It was the seventh time that they allowed only one power play in a game this campaign.

The Rangers have gone into the third period of a game trailing 14 times this season and this was their third win.  It was the fifth time this season that they have overcome a third period deficit to win.

My 3 Rangers stars

Igor Shesterkin

would have gotten the first star for his work in regulation and overtime.  The seven straight stops in the shootout only sealed the deal.  He was spectacular when he needed to be including a brilliant stop on David Pastrnak in overtime.<

/li>

The official 3 stars

1. Igor Shesterkin – Rangers
2. K’Andre Miller – Rangers
3. Jeremy Swayman – Bruins

What’s next

The Detroit Red Wings come to town on Thursday in the make-up of a game postponed in December.  While the Wings are playing well and are within shouting distance of Boston, they are still 16 points behind the Rangers and at NHL .500.

After Detroit, it’s a quick trip to Ottawa on Sunday afternoon, a 5pm start.