NHL
RALEIGH, N.C. — The Rangers will go so far as Igor Shesterkin will take them.
Tuesday night time’s 1-0 win over the Hurricanes was simply the most recent reminder of that truth because the star Russian netminder posted his second straight shutout with 28 saves to offer the first-place Rangers a six-point cushion on Carolina within the Metropolitan Division standings.
This was a sizzling Carolina crew coming in. The Hurricanes had outscored their final three opponents 15-5.
Then they needed to face Shesterkin and the Rangers and their offense went chilly.
“To be sincere, at this time was my mother’s birthday,” stated Shesterkin, who backstopped the Blueshirts to their third win in a row. “So I couldn’t play a nasty recreation tonight.”
Shesterkin gutted out a goaltending duel with Pytor Kochetkov, who gave up the Rangers’ lone objective off an Adam Fox shot that ricocheted in off ex-Ranger-turned-Hurricanes defenseman Brady Skjei within the ultimate seconds of the primary interval.
In any other case, Kochetkov introduced simply as a lot of a problem for the Rangers, who had been denied at each flip for the insurance coverage objective.
Particularly within the third interval, which grew to become a observe meet via the primary minutes of the ultimate body.
The best way Shesterkin has elevated his recreation the final month and a half, nevertheless, ought to put religion within the Rangers’ locker room that he can present the distinction in any matchup.
Now, the important thing can be to offer the Vezina-winning goalie just a little extra objective help.
“Hear, goaltending, it may well make or break you,” head coach Peter Laviolette stated. “We’re lucky, you see [Jonathan Quick on Monday night] and Shesty in back-to-back video games right here, the goaltending has given us an opportunity to win each night time. Nevertheless it was all people tonight, it was definitely Shesty, but it surely was all people.”
The Rangers earned each little bit of their second 1-0 victory of the season.
They not solely matched the depth the Hurricanes all the time appear to play with, however they performed sensible in a decent recreation the place Carolina pulled its goalie for the additional skater within the ultimate two minutes of regulation.
The groups traded momentum via the primary two durations, however the Rangers had been the one ones to strike.
After the guests held the Hurricanes to 5 photographs on objective compared to their 11 within the first interval, the numbers had been flip-flopped precisely within the center body.
The Rangers had been hemmed of their zone for a superb portion of the second interval and Shesterkin needed to bail his teammates out on a couple of event as their exhaustion from the back-to-back slate started to take its toll.
The 28-year-old netminder, who notched his third shutout and improved to 28-13-2 on the season, robbed new Hurricane Evgeni Kuznetsov twice from in tight.
It had the Blueshirts followers in attendance chanting ‘IG-OR!’ all through PNC Area.
“I feel it’s simpler for me,” Shesterkin stated of low-scoring video games. “Since you focus extra on the puck than [when it’s] 4-0 or 5-0, you lose [concentration] and all people loses [it] too. Then you definitely hand over s—ty objective.”
Shesterkin and the Rangers by no means misplaced focus on this one.
So long as their No. 1 goaltender is taking part in like he has, the playoffs can’t come quickly sufficient for the Rangers.
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