Many good signs in 3-0 win over Penguins
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.
About the game
The Rangers came out shooting with Tristan Jarry stopping a point blank shot from Ryan Strome. Most of the period was played cautiously by both teams with neither squad looking to make a mistake that could open the scoring. The shots were 10-9 Rangers after one period with each team missing on one power play opportunity. The best opportunity for the Rangers was a rush by Filip Chytil and Teddy Blueger had the best shot for the Penguins that was stopped by Shesterkin.
The Blueshirts made quick work of the scoreless tie when Frank Vatrano scored just 24 seconds into the second period.
Pucks. On. Net. 😤#NoQuitInNY pic.twitter.com/xBJebqpRei
— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) April 8, 2022
The breakout was made by Adam Fox who fired a pass to Chris Kreider who received the pass, but was under pressure. The puck slid to Mika Zibanejad behind the net who made a deft pass to Vatrano who was open in front.
The Penguins took a long look at the goal, but chose to not challenge for goalie interference. Kreider definitely made contact with Jarry, but he was upended into the crease by Kris Letang.
At 9:47, it was the Strome line that got on the scoreboard. This time it was Trouba who made the outlet pass to Andrew Copp who fed Panarin in the slot for the shot.
500th career game.
— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) April 8, 2022
558th career point.
🍞 pic.twitter.com/XvlX9dwNS9
Panarin’s backhand beat Jarry and the Rangers were up 2-0.
The third period was scoreless except for an empty net goal by Dryden Hunt, but there was a lot of chippy play that started with Anthony Angello’s hit on Tyler Motte. Motte was bent over and defenseless when Angello laid him out. Both teams wrestled with each other, but it was the Penguin who took the penalty.
Later in the period it was Evgeni Malkin and Barclay Goodrow who squared off. Mike Matheson jumped in and there were some punches thrown. Both Goodrow and Malkin ended up in the penalty box while inexplicably, Matheson got nothing.
Shesterkin did his best work in the third period as the Penguins had a late power play and then pulled their goalie.
I-GOR 👏👏 pic.twitter.com/bzEiHgUNiF
— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) April 8, 2022
Nothing got through and the game ended with both teams milling about with a lot of taunting going on.
Igor Shesterkin waving goodbye to the Penguins 😂👋 pic.twitter.com/27O7ZqecFs
— Gino Hard (@GinoHard_) April 8, 2022
It was a rock solid win for the Blueshirts. Here is a full video recap of the game:
Notes on the game
The Rangers improved to 46-29-6 and 98 points, fourth most in the NHL. They are six points ahead of the Penguins and two points behind the Hurricanes who came from behind to beat the Sabres. Those 98 points are the 11th most achieved by any Rangers team. Their magic number to clinch a playoff spot is one.
The Rangers improved their home record to 23-7-4. The last time they had 23 home wins in a season was 2015-16.
The win gives them a 13-7-1 record against Metropolitan Division teams and guarantees that they will be above .500 against all four divisions.
Igor Shesterkin notched his fourth shutout of the season and improved his league leading save percentage to .935 and his second best goals against average 2.10. His 33 wins is third most in the NHL.
Artemi Panarin played in his 500th NHL game and he reached the 20 goal mark for the sixth time in his career. He is 10th in the NHL with 85 points.
Those deadline acquisitions keep looking good. Frank Vatrano scored his six goal in 12 games as a Ranger and now has 16 goals on the season. Andrew Copp notched his 10th point in nine games in New York, assisting on Panarin’s goal.
Chris Kreider didn’t score a goal, but got his 21 assist, giving him 68 points on he season. He needs three goals in the final 10 games to get to 50.
It was Justin Braun’s turn to sit out as Patrik Nemeth returned to the lineup on the left side of Braden Schneider.
The Penguins were shorthanded with Sidney Crosby missing the game with a non-COVID related illness. Defenseman John Marino also missed his first game this season.
Speaking of Crosby, the ESPN broadcasters reminded us that he was out of the lineup dozens of times. The entire telecast was almost unwatchable, most due to the trio of Bob Wischusen, Brian Boucher and A. J. Mleczko. Their incessant chatter detracted from the game and they were so enamored of the Penguins that it sounded like a Pittsburgh home telecast. It was truly awful. Is anyone in ESPN management watching these games?????
The Rangers went into this game with a franchise record of 5-11-1 on April 7, one of their worst records on any given day. Also, Thursday was the only day of the week that the Rangers have a losing record (3-5-2). The stars were aligned against the Rangers, but they overcame the odds.
My 3 Rangers stars
- Igor Shesterkin had an excellent game without having to be flashy. He benefited from a solid defense as the Rangers had 17 blocked shot. Still, he was there when he needed to be and made some outstanding saves.
- Artemi Panarin is like the Energizer Bunny every game these days and he didn’t disappoint. He also scored the key second on a great set up by Copp that left Panarin with his lethal backhand.
- Jacob Trouba/Adam Fox get to share the third star for another solid defensive effort. It was Trouba’s pass that sprung Andrew Copp on Panarin’s goal and Fox did the same on the Vatrano goal. Fox led all skaters with just under 25 minutes TOI and he led the team with five blocked shots.
The official 3 stars
- Igor Shesterkin
- Frank Vatrano
- Artemi Panarin
What’s next
The Rangers host the Ottawa Senators on Saturday night, but you cannot blame them if they are looking ahead to their game Tuesday night with the Hurricanes, game that could held determine who finishes first. They then play on the next night in Philadelphia. Though the second game of back-to-backs the Rangers will be looking to get even for their shootout loss to the Flyers last week.
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