Panarin shines as Rangers beat Avalanche in the shootout

If I had said two weeks ago the Rangers would have rattled three wins in a row off over the St Louis Blues, Vegas Golden Knights, and now the Colorado Avalanche, there would have been people calling me all the things under the sun. However, the truth remains stranger than fiction and the Rangers manage to top the Colorado Avalanche 2-1 in the shootout in a duel between the two former Rangers netminders.

Igor Shesterkin looked like the goaltender that won the Vezina last season at the tail end of this game. Throughout the third period and overtime, Igor made multiple fantastic highlight reel stops to keep the onslaught of the Avalanche late in the game at bay. We all know how disappointed the Russian shot-stopper was with himself last week, but he did himself no shame in this game. He was absolutely sensational and without him, the Rangers do not win this game.

Speaking of Russians that won this game for the Rangers, Artemi Panarin. This man did everything tonight. He had an absolutely perfect assist into the wheelhouse of a Braden Schneider one-timer, had a perfectly timed stick lift on an aggressive backcheck to save a goal, and even nabbed himself the shootout-winning goal. Artemi Panarin took over this game despite the Rangers’ inconsistencies at times.

However, this game was not all great for the Blueshirts. Vincent Trocheck would take a shot off the lower body and struggle to put weight on it heading to the bench. He would continue to play in this game, but it is always concerning to see a forward as vital to this team as Trocheck suffer an injury like that. He would play in overtime and even take the Rangers’ lone failed shootout attempt.

With the two points from tonight’s game, the New York Rangers move into the 2nd wild card spot in the East, two points above the Detroit Red Wings. While Detroit has 3 games in hand, it’s nice to see the Rangers back above the line in the East. One way to undeniably move up the standings is to keep winning. If they can do that next time out when the Devils come to town, they’ll be looking a lot better than they were.