Igor Shesterkin gave the New York Rangers another stellar performance when they needed it most.
Shesterkin made 32 saves, and Chris Kreider and Mika Zibanejad each contributed a goal and an assist, leading the Rangers to a 3-1 victory over the New Jersey Devils on Friday night.
“He’s been unbelievable,” Rangers coach Gerard Gallant said of his young goalie.
Filip Chytil also scored for the Rangers, who closed out their three-game homestand with two consecutive wins and improved to 6-1-1 in their last eight home games.
Nico Hischier scored for the Devils, and Nico Daws made 29 saves.
“Shesterkin had a great game,” Devils coach Lindy Ruff said. He made some high-quality saves. He shut us down on some really good looks. We played as solid as we could.”
New Jersey has now lost five of its last seven games.
“We had our chances,” Devils defenseman Ryan Graves said. “He made some great saves. The difference was capitalizing on chances. We have to find ways to score. … Daws has been great. It is nice to see. He’s calming, not scrambling. He’s been solid for us.”
Shesterkin made four crucial saves during a third-period Devils power play, earning his 27th win of the season. Thanks in large part to their goaltender, the Rangers improved to 19-1-3 when leading after two periods.
“He’s been great and continues to be great,” said Rangers defenseman Jacob Trouba, who assisted Zibanejad’s goal. Whenever we’ve needed him, he’s been there—all year, it seems.”
Shesterkin leads the NHL with a .940 save percentage and boasts a 1.96 goals-against average, second only to Boston’s Jeremy Swayman (1.95).
“It helps a lot having him back there,” Zibanejad said. “Makes it easier with him back there.”
With the Rangers clinging to a 2-1 lead in the third, Zibanejad entered the zone and delivered a cross-ice pass to Kreider, who one-timed it in for his 36th goal of the season at 11:23. Kreider now trails league scoring leader Leon Draisaitl of Edmonton by two goals and Toronto’s Auston Matthews by one.
“Our top players, they scored big goals for us at the right time,” Gallant said. “Sometimes, when you’re frustrated a little bit, and the game is not going your way, they make the big plays, and that’s what they do for us.”
After a 1-1 tie in the first period, Ryan Lindgren entered the offensive zone and set up Chytil, who netted his sixth goal of the season at 8:57 of the second.
Chytil was a healthy scratch for two recent games before returning for Wednesday’s win over St. Louis and was pleased to contribute.
“I’m happy that I scored a game-winning goal,” he said. “It’s great for my confidence.”
Shesterkin made impressive saves, including two pad saves on Hischier and a glove save on Jack Hughes during an early Devils power play.
Zibanejad opened the scoring at 11:11 of the first period, sending a backhand past Daws for his 21st goal of the season. Zibanejad has scored the first goal of a game nine times this season, second only to Detroit’s Dylan Larkin.
“I feel we’ve been playing well,” Zibanejad said. We’ve been doing what we need to do to get the wins, and that’s been good for us.”
Hischier capitalized on a Rangers defensive breakdown and broke in alone, tying the game 2:45 later with his 16th goal of the season.
Daws made a good save on Barclay Goodrow, who broke in on a short-handed breakaway late in the first.
“I like his calmness,” Ruff said of his goalie. “A calmness about it tells me he has NHL quality. He keeps the game before him and has made some big saves.”
Game Notes
Hughes has played 35 games and has not taken a penalty so far this season. … Zibanejad has points in nine of his last 12 games (six goals, eight assists). … The Rangers will head to Newark for the final two matchups of the season against the Devils on March 22 and April 5.
UP NEXT:
- Devils: Host St. Louis on Sunday afternoon.
- Rangers: Start a four-game road trip at Winnipeg on Sunday.
