Saturday, January 18th marked the New York Rangers return to Madison Square Garden after a three game road stretch in addition to goaltender Igor Shesterkin's first shutout since opening night, Oct. 9.
Despite outshooting the Blue Jackets 23-12 after the first period, the game went into overtime and an eventual shootout before the Rangers claimed the win over Columbus.
NHL GameScore Impact Card for New York Rangers on 2025-01-18: pic.twitter.com/kzLEClaZ94
— HockeyStatCards (@hockeystatcards) January 19, 2025
Let's breakdown exactly how the Blueshirts got their latest win with three key takeaways from the matchup.
1. Igor Shesterkin Shines
Against Columbus, Shesterkin was not only perfect in regulation and overtime — but also in the shootout of Saturday’s 1-0 win over the Blue Jackets. He stopped all three attempts by Columbus and the Rangers got a shootout goal from Vincent Trocheck in the second round, which was all they needed to claim the win.
Throughout the match, Shesterkin stopped all 27 shots. This was his second shutout of the season and the 17th of his NHL career so far.
As a result of his efforts, Shesterkin rightfully earned the final Star of the Game.
Postgame, Shesterkin offered a very simple explanation for what transpired during the final shootout against the Blue Jackets' Kirill Marchenko.
“He tried to score," Shesterkin said. "I tried to stop him."
No. 31. pic.twitter.com/9G8sY65CT8
— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) January 19, 2025
2. Mika Zibanejad's Failed Breakaways
Mika Zibanejad had five breakaway chances in the three overtime periods for the New York Rangers. He scored on zero of them.
On the season, the Swedish player only has eight goals and 27 points (-25).
3. Point Streak Continues
The Rangers (22-20-3) have won two games in a row, four of five and have points in seven straight (5-0-2). Meaning, New York improved to 5-0-2 in its last seven games and 6-1-2 overall in January.
Up Next
This is a quick turn around for the Rangers. New York travels to Montreal to take on the Canadians for Sunday's 7:00 p.m. EST matchup. The match will be available via Fubo.
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