3 Takeaways from the Rangers 2-1 Win over the Vegas Golden Knights

For the first time in 54 days, the New York Rangers are on a winning streak.

Previously defeating the New Jersey Devils 3-2 in overtime at Madison Square Garden, the Rangers immediately following it up with another victory.

This time, the Blueshirts took down the team who then had the best record in the NHL — the Las Vegas Golden Knights. In the heart of the New York Strip, the Rangers took them down 2-1 in regulation.

""I thought we were right on point right from the start. For me, it's a follow-up from the last game, as well. So that's even a better point, too, is it was a really solid effort and game at home [against the Devils] and then to come on the road a day later, take the travel, get out here and play tonight. I thought the guys -- everything, from the drop of the puck the first period was excellent. And then just followed it through for 60 minutes.""

Head Coach Peter Laviolette

Aside from what Laviolette thought, let's break down three key takeaways from the matchup.

1. Mike Zibanejad's Point Streak

Mika Zibanejad extended his point streak to six games with an assist on the Rangers’ first goal from Vincent Trocheck.

The quirky and painful power-play goal in the second period was scored on a setup by Mika Zibanejad.

Following the backhand for the rebound, Trocheck headed for the locker room to recover prior to heading back out on the ice.

Also logging points for the Rangers was Jonny Brodzinski, Adam Edtrom, Artemi Panarin and Matt Rempe.

2. A Strong Showing from Igor Shesterkin

Goaltender Igor Shesterkin was strong again in his second start since missing four games with an upper-body injury. He followed up his showing against the Devils with a 29-save performance, allowing only a power-play tally in the second.

Aided by a more attentive defense that blocked 21 shots after blocking 20 against New Jersey, Shesterkin came up with two big saves on a power play in the final minutes of the third. He tracked Mark Stone moving through the crease and came out of the net for the save with 2:24 left, then denied Tomas Hertl only 30 seconds later.

In fact, the Golden Knights outshot the Rangers 12-2 in the third period. But Shesterkin was the difference, stopping all 12, besting Ilya Samsonov, who finished with 24 saves for Vegas.

3. The Team's Reaction to the Win

“It’s obviously big, it’s a real good team over there,” Ryan Lindgren said. “Two in a row. We’re going to play a real good Colorado team [on Tuesday], so just got to keep building off of it. Just try and play better and better every game.”

“As a team defensively, it seems like we’ve been doing that better the last couple of games,” said defenseman Ryan Lindgren, who has seven blocked shots in the past two games. “That’s the key to winning games. So it was a good one tonight for us.”