New York Rangers Daily: Igor Shesterkin soothes Blueshirts eye-sore; Patrick Kane hero for Red Wings
Fortunately, today is a day off from watching the New York Rangers. My eyes are still sore from this past weekend.
Yes, the Rangers emerged with a split. But let’s face it, they were atrocious coming out of the two-week break. And that’s with the gift of playing two of the worst teams in the League. So, their shoddy play means they only lost one of two, when they absolutely deserved two losses.
And winning one game this weekend was good enough to bump the Rangers within two points of the second wild card in the Eastern Conference. Pardon me, but it’s laughable how mediocre the teams in this “playoff race” actually are.
But it is what it is, and at the end of the day, the Rangers likely are the best of a bad lot contending for a wild-card spot. Plus, they have Igor Shesterkin, who was able to rebound from that 8-2 disaster in Buffalo against the Sabres on Saturday to singlehandedly (and I do mean all by himself) give the Rangers a chance in Pittsburgh on Sunday.
Shesterkin’s brilliance cannot be overlooked. Because it whitewashed a terrible team performance. And then the Rangers showed they have enough talent to switch it on for a few minutes and take advantage of a subpar opponent, one that fortunately featured an AHL goalie at the other end of the ice.
The 5-3 win against the Penguins was much needed, but more than anything it was a massive relief. Now they’re on the cusp of pulling into a playoff spot, maybe even by the end of this week, which features two games against the Islanders (losers of four of five), one against the 30th overall Nashville Predators and one versus a legit contender, the Toronto Maple Leafs.
So, here’s hoping the hockey is more watchable this coming week than it was this past weekend. Because everything is right there for the taking by the Rangers.
New York Rangers news
Here are three Rangers takeaways from that ugly win against the Penguins, including J.T. Miller rising to the occasion alongside Shesterkin.
Coach Peter Laviolette said Rangers “got what we deserved” in that brutal loss to Sabres on Saturday. Wonder how he feels about stealing one in Pittsburgh 24 hours later?!
It hurts my head to look back at these two games, so here’s a lookahead at a four-game week for the Rangers.
NHL news
Of course, it can always be worse Rangers fans. Just look at the Penguins, who are slip sliding away in the East playoff race, now seven points below the cut line and in 15th place. Colleague Dan Kingerski has seen enough and believes it’s time for the Penguins to trade Erik Karlsson — if possible — and retool a bit.
Oh, and the Penguins lost defenseman Matt Grzelcyk with an upper-body injury in the first period against the Rangers.
The Islanders lost again, 4-3 to the Dallas Stars, though this one included a controversial match penalty call against New York center Casey Cizikas and later a less controversial goalie interference call that went against the Isles.
Not so fast on that new contract for Islanders forward Max Tsyplakov. The NY Post reports that Tsyplakov denied he’s close to signing a new deal during the season and will talk with the Islanders when the season ends. His agent reportedly had said the sides are close to a new contract last week.
Boston Bruins defenseman Hampus Lindholm is likely out for the rest of the season with a knee injury.
Jusso Valimaki was placed on waivers by the Utah Hockey Club.
Then Utah went out and edged the Vancouver Canucks on Dylan Guenther’s game-winner.
Detroit Red Wings forward Michael Rasmussen left their game against the Anaheim Ducks after taking a blow to the head from Trevor Zegras. There was no update on his condition after the game.
Former Rangers forward Patrick Kane scored the overtime winner to lift the Red Wings past the Ducks 5-4. They now are the first wild card in the East.
Nico Hischier had three assists and Nico Daws backstopped the shutout in a 5-0 New Jersey Devils win against the woeful Predators in Nashville.
Cale Makar became the third-fastest defenseman to reach 400 points in NHL history, when he assisted on a Devon Toews goal in a 3-1 Colorado Avalanche loss to the St. Louis Blues. The two defensemen ahead of him are Hockey Hall of Famers Bobby Orr and Paul Coffey.
Watch Alex Ovechkin record his 32nd career hat trick and move within 13 goals of breaking Wayne Gretzky’s all-time NHL record in a 7-3 Washington Capitals win against the Edmonton Oilers.
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