Results don’t always come easy in the NHL, but the New York Rangers have found a way to get them when things aren’t always going their way.
In a road match against the defending Stanley Cup Champions, Igor Shesterkin saved 41 shots, and the Rangers won in Colorado 2-1 in a shootout for their third straight win.
Colorado came in seriously handicapped with top players like Nathan MacKinnon and others nursing long-term injuries. The loss is the Avalanche’s fourth straight on the season. The contest started nicely for Colorado though late in the first period when Mikko Rantanen scored off Shesterkin to give the Avs a 1-0 lead after one.
The reigning Vezina winner would be dominant the rest of the night though keeping a high-powered offense like the Avs off the scoresheet and keeping New York in the game on a night where the offense struggled to find answers against their former teammate.
Alexander Georgiev himself was 28/29 on shots through the contest but finally blinked in the second period when Braden Schneider rocketed one past the former Ranger’s undrafted talent. For Schneider, it was his fourth goal of the season since November 22nd.
No defenseman has scored more than him around the entire NHL according to the Rangers Stats and Info Twitter account.
But after a third period and overtime period came and went with both Georgiev and Shesterking making incredible saves throughout the night, the second contest between two of the finalists in their respective conferences last season went to a shootout.
Shesterkin made two big saves in the shootout period while Mika Zibanejad and Artemi Panarin both scored past their former teammate to preserve the win, and help New York stay in the thick of the Metro division race.
The win moves the Rangers to 14-10-5 on the season with their next contest Monday night back at home ice against the New Jersey Devils.
Game Notes:
- Friday night was the first shootout win for the Rangers this season. Up until the win, they had gone 0-2 in the extra period.
- Perhaps a Rangers team that is tied at the end of two periods is the best unit to see? New York moved to 8-1-5 on the season when tied going into the final period of regulation.
- Friday’s win came after New York assigned Ryan Carpenter to their AHL affiliate in Hartford. The emerging play of Jonny Brodzinski and other young talents helped make the Blueshirts roster cutdown to 22 easier to manage.
