Recap: Shesterkin Keeps Rangers Shutout Streak Going in 4-0 Win Over Islanders

In their third and arguably most important meeting of the season, the Rangers hosted their Long Island rivals just six days after beating them 5-1 in their barn. With the trade deadline just four days away and the remaining points becoming more and more valuable, the Rangers had an opportunity to not only make headway in their own push for the playoffs, but really but a damper in the Islanders chances of doing so.

1st Period: 

Not a great start for the Rangers as the Islanders were spending a great deal of time with the puck in the Rangers end of the ice with shots 3-1 in their opponents favor through the first seven minutes of play. The Rangers would catch a bit of a break around the thirteen minute mark as Adam Pelech sent a rolling puck over the glass for the first penalty of the night. 

As the Rangers top power play unit took the ice, Mika Zibanejad came really close to striking first as J.T. Miller fed him with a perfect pass down low but Ilya Sorokin robbed him on the one timer. As the play went the other way, Igor Shesterkin was challenged with a 2-on-1 and came up with a big save on a shot from Brock Nelson. That would be the first of two odd-man rushes Shesterkin had to take care of as Nelson had a second chance as the teams returned to even strength.

A strong backcheck from Artemi Panarin helped Shesterkin fight off the chance but the Rangers would be penalized in the process as they had too many men on the ice. While it would become a successful penalty kill, the Rangers ended up letting in a goal as the teams returned to even strength once again. A weird angle shot from Anders Lee almost at the goal line ended up sneaking through Shesterkin and the post to make it a 1-0 game, at least for a moment. 

The Rangers challenged the play for offsides and as it turned out, they’d be right. Bo Horvat had entered the zone just before the puck which gave the Rangers a do-over. Surely Igor Shesterkin was the most relieved as that goal was definitely one he wanted to have back. 

With just under five minutes to go, Zac Jones let a shot go from the point that bounced off a stick before redirecting off of the side of Will Cuylle’s head to find the back of the net. You can’t headbutt a puck into the net, but similar to the rules with kicking the puck, if it deflects off it’s a good goal. That would be the case with Cuylle as his 17th of the season stood to help the Rangers establish a 1-0 lead. 

It’s been a tough season in Rangersland but I truly can’t believe how bad this team is at making line changes. For the second time in this game, twelfth time this season, the Rangers were called for yet another too many men in the final two minutes of the period. Inexcusable mental lapse from Vincent Trocheck jumping on the ice with no one coming off as the Rangers now lead the league in these types of penalties. 

Turns out, the penalty would work out in their favor as Will Cuylle took a hit that helped the Rangers break the puck out of their own end. Sam Carrick would drop a pass back to Will Borgen who let an absolute rip of a wrister go that ended up going bar down to extend the Rangers lead 2-0. Looking at the replay, the shot took a slight redirect off the stick of Adam Boqvist but still, incredibly shot from Borgen. 

That came as the Rangers’ 11th shorthanded goal of the season which labels them the second best in the league in that stat. Not the most high-event period by any means but once again, the Rangers took advantage of their limited opportunities and came out of the period with a 2-0 lead. Shots were just 8-6 in the Islanders favor with high danger chances tied at three apiece. 

2nd Period:

The Rangers fourth line had a fantastic chance to extend the lead just a couple of minutes into the period as Matt Rempe fed Brett Berard with a nice pass on an odd-man rush but hit the side of the net after Sorokin took the angle away. It was Shesterkin with the long stretch pass that set up the rush to begin with. Shortly after, the Rangers were back on the power play as Horvat sent the puck over the glass. 

Continuing to have tough luck on the man advantage, the Rangers again let the power play come and go without converting. Zac Jones is doing a fine job attempting to quarterback the top unit with Adam Fox on IR but they just can’t seem to capitalize. From that point on, it was a bit of a quieter period as the Rangers settled into more of a defensive minded game. With about five minutes left in the period, K’Andre Miller was called for holding which required a strong penalty kill to keep things moving. 

At the end of two, shots were tied 13-13 with both teams hitting the crossbar across the second period. Neither team converted on any of their opportunities with special teams as the Rangers had the advantage in both scoring chances as well as high danger chances.  Much like their outing with Nashville last night, they were in good shape to close things out in a conservative manner but could certainly benefit from at least another goal.

3rd Period:

The playoff-like intensity of this game continued through the start of the period and just over four minutes in, they would get that much needed insurance goal. It was J.T. Miller once again aggressive on the puck that created for a classic Tony DeAngelo turnover. This allowed for Panarin to chip it ahead back to Miller as he entered the Islanders zone. Miller had Zibanejad with him but opted for the shot which beat Sorokin to make it a 3-0 game. 

Without question, J.T. Miller has been one of, if not the most impactful players traded this season. His presence since rejoining the Rangers has been such a gamechanger and if they end up making the playoffs, he’ll be a big reason why. 

That insurance goal gave the Rangers a good grasp on this one as they were outshooting the Islanders 10-1 through the first half of the final period of regulation. With seven and a half to go in the game, Ilya Sorokin headed to the bench as the Islanders were growing desperate for a spark.

With Sorokin being credited with an empty net goal over the weekend, this felt like the perfect moment for Shesterkin to finally get his long anticipated empty net goal. Alas, About two and a half minutes later the Rangers got it deep and Panarin was able to tuck it in to the empty net for his 25th of the season. That's the eighth time in his career he has hit that milestone, fourth time as a Ranger.

That would about do it for this one. With the final four and half minutes left the only remaining order of business was to answer the Cadillac trivia question which was delivered later than normal on the broadcast. The Rangers would secure their fourth win in their last five games as they came up with a big 4-0 win against the Islanders. One of their better defensive showings of the season as Shesterkin secured his 4th shutout of the season, the team's second in a row.

They Blueshirt's will continue with a busy week for another divisional rival matchup as they host the Washington Capitals on Wednesday Night.