The New York Rangers played an outstanding hockey game at Madison Square Garden Thursday night, shutting out the Penguins 3-0 in a game that was never really in doubt. There were numerous positives that came out of the game.
First and foremost was the 30 save shutout for Igor Shesterkin. He played the way he has all season making some tough saves and his excellent positioning made it look easy. There are sure indications that Shesterkin is back to form and that bodes well for the playoffs.
Second starts now. #NoQuitInNY pic.twitter.com/qHEvsDolxO
— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) April 7, 2022
Gerard Gallant spoke about Shesterkin’s “slump” saying “I thought he was excellent, people were worried about him, I wasn’t. He played real well tonight, made some real key saves at key times.”
Frank Vatrano echoed the sentiment. “You know that if you have a breakdown he’s going to be there to back you up…he’s been the rock back there all year…to have someone back there you can rely on is great.”
It was a different Shesterkin who appeared after the game in a laughfest with Artemi Panarin. Last game he didn’t want to talk about his performance, this game he spoke about the team, corrected his interpreter once and made a joke about Panarin’s salary.
Second, the Rangers opened up a six point lead on the Penguins for second place. The Rangers magic number to clinch second place is 15, but look at it this way, if the Rangers go 5-5 over their last 10 games, they will finish with 108 points and Pittsburgh would need to get 17 of 20 remaining points to finish ahead of them. It’s looking good.
Third, the Rangers magic number to clinch their first trip to the playoffs in five years is just one. If the Islanders lose to the Hurricanes tomorrow, the Rangers are in.
Fourth, with a first round matchup with the Penguins likely, the Rangers will k now that they won three of four this season, allowing only four goals with just one at even strength. They outscored the Pens 11-4.
Finally, the Rangers played a shutdown defense, the kind of defense they will need to play in the postseason. When the Penguins had 13 shots in the third period, it was the first time in four games that an opposing team had hit double figures in shots in a period.
The only negative was that Tyler Motte exited with an apparent shoulder injury after he absorbed a big third period hit by Anthony Angello.
Gallant was pleased with the game. “I felt good about our team all night, we played a solid game. A few mistakes, not many.”
Gallant maintains that he isn’t scoreboard watching. “It’s another stepping stone to keep our team going. We wanna win games, we want to get points. It’s the best we can do. We’ve got 10 games left, we’ll see what happens.”
Vatrano scored his sixth goal and did admit that they are aware of the standings. “You like to see who’s won and who’s lost…home ice is a big part of the playoffs and that’s what we’re striving for.”
With only 10 games left in the season and second place a virtual lock, it’s time for fine tuning as the team gets ready for the postseason.