New York Rangers one-sided win over Capitals 4-1

4 of 4

Feb 24, 2022; New York, New York, USA; New York Rangers left wing Alexis Lafreniere (13) skates during the third period against the Washington Capitals at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports /

My 3 Rangers stars

Alexis Lafrenière played one of his best games with a goal and an assist and a plus/minus of +3. He is really fitting in with the Zibanejad line and looks like he is becoming a permanent fixture on their right side. It was his fourth career multi-point game and tied his career high with the +3 rating.

Igor Shesterkin

should have had a shutout, losing it to an Alex Ovechkin shot with a minute left. While he didn’t have to stand on his head for the win, he did make a few outstanding saves and improved all of his league leading statistics.

IGOR

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Mika Zibanejad was the catalyst for the Rangers top line and got the all important first goal on his lethal one-timer. On a night when the Rangers centers were pretty bad on faceoffs, he won seven of 11 draws.

The official three stars

Alexis Lafreniere
Igor Shesterkin
Mika Zibanejad

What’s next

The Rangers travel to Pittsburgh for their first meeting of the season with the Penguins on Saturday afternoon. The game will be televised nationally on ABC with gametime set for 3pm.

It is the first game of a back-to-back set of games as they return Sunday to play the Vancouver Canucks. The Rangers have passed Pittsburgh in the standings into second place so after this game, the Blueshirts will either be back in third place or three games ahead of the Penguins with a firmer grasp on second place. If the Rangers lose in overtime, they will be in a virtual tie with the Penguins.

It’s going to be a great weekend of hockey.

More. Projecting the next 10 games. light

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