An almost perfect road win over Ottawa 2-1

The New York Rangers made their last trip to Ottawa this season and came home with a close 2-1 win.  It would have been a perfect road win if Igor Shesterkin had been able to do what no Rangers goalie has ever done, score a goal.  With the Ottawa goalie pulled late in the third period, Shesterkin got to the puck behind the net and flung it down the ice. It looked like it was going to go in the net, but took a line that left it inches from the right post. Oh well.Next time.

Despite falling behind 1-0, the Rangers pulled out another win, scoring their standard one even strength goal and winning the game on the power play.  The Rangers have allowed only 11 goals in their last six games while going 4-1-1.  Of course, they have scored only 15 goals with just nine of them at even strength.

As long as the Rangers keep winning close games all is well in Rangersland, but they have some tough games coming up and heat up the scoring a bit.

Even without scoring, the afternoon belonged to Igor Shesterkin who was impenetrable after getting beat by a first period shot from Tim Stützle on a two on one.  Shesterkin slammed the door shut, stopping 29 shots.

The Rangers are walking a fine line between winning and losing and by next Sunday, we’ll know a lot more about where this team stands in the NHL heirarchy.

About the game

This was anything but a scintillating game.  Both teams took turns with offensive zone time, but high danger chances were few.  At even strength, the Rangers had 47 shots attempts with only eight of those of the high danger variety.  The Senators had 52 shot attempts of which only six were high danger.

The Senators got on the board first when the Rangers turned the puck just over the Senators’ blue line.  Ottawa broke in on a two-on-one. Jacob Trouba let Shesterkin handle the puck carrier and Tim Stützle rifled a shot over the Ranger goalie’s blocker. It was an excellent shot and Shesterkin was clearly beaten.

The Rangers answered right back on goal by Ryan Strome just 2:35 later.  The play was made by Artemi Panarin who had gained possession of the puck in the Senators’ zone.  He made the pass to Braden Schneider who was in center ice, the pass reach Schneider just inside the blue line.  The young defenseman let loose with a one-timer that was blocked but ended on Strome’s stick and he put the puck past Senators goalie Filip Gustavsson.

The 1-1 carried into the second period when Panarin drew a hooking penalty on Nikita Zaitsev at 7:48.  The first power play unit went right to work and with the penalty kill focusing on Mika Zibanejad and his one-timer, it left Panarin open to walk in and put a shot past Gustavsson.

The third period was an excellent defensive period for the Rangers despite a push by the Senators.

The Rangers got a second power play with about four minutes left when Nick Paul hooked Panarin on a breakaway. They weren’t able to score despite a couple excellent chances, but it killed off two crucial minutes.

That set up Shesterkin for his failed attempt to score with 1:15 left.

The miss resulted in an icing, but Shesterkin was determined to keep the Sens from scoring, making one last save on Connor Brown.

Here’a a full video recap of the game.

One question for Rangers fans is whether they should be blowing out the non-playoff teams like Detroit and Ottawa, or at least winning more one-sided games.  Does it matter?  On the surface, not to Gerard Gallant,but he has to be a little concerned about the lack of even strength scoring and the dependence on their goalie.

My 3 Rangers stars

1. What did Artemi Panarin do to deserve the first star?  He set up the first Rangers goal.  He scored the game winning goal.  He drew the only two penalties against the Senators.  It was another great game for the Rangers’ star.
2. Igor Shesterkin had another stellar performance and came two inches from becoming the first Ranger goalie to score.   It’s become a routine for Shesterkin to play well as he hasn’t allowed more than three goals in a game in 2022.
3. We’re going to give Braden Schneider the third star for another solid appearance. He had the primary assist on the Ryan Strome goal, played a smart defense and even had 54 seconds of penalty killing time. Schneider serves as representative for the entire Rangers defense.

The official 3 stars

1. Artemi Panarin – Rangers
2. Ryan Strome – Rangers
3. Tim Stützle – Senators

What’s next

It’s a big week for the Rangers with two huge games on national television.  Thursday night they take on the Washington Capitals for the first time since opening night and the first time at Madison Square Garden this season.  It’s Tom Wilson night and who knows that will happen?

Saturday the Rangers have a matinee against the Pittsburgh Penguins in the first meeting of the season for the two teams fighting for playoff home ice advantage.  It doesn’t end there as they host the Vancouver Canucks next Sunday.  The noise around J.T. Miller’s trade bait status should be deafening in a week.

With four days off, the Rangers should be well prepared.  It’s a great time to be a Rangers fan!