Rangers ride Igor Shesterkin’s 34-save effort to 4-1 win over Maple Leafs
Igor Shesterkin’s heroics helped the New York Rangers extend their season-opening points streak to five games by holding off the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-1 at Scotiabank Arena on Saturday night.
Shesterkin was the star of the night, making 34 saves for his third win in four starts. Chris Kreider scored twice, and the Rangers improved to 4-0-1 — the fourth time in team history, and the first since 2008-09, that they’ve had points in each of their first five games. Their .900 points percentage is the best in the Eastern Conference.
The Rangers also got goals from Alexis Lafreniere and Artemi Panarin as they improved to 3-0-0 on the road. It’s the third time in their 98-year history – and the first since 1931-32 – that they’ve started a season 3-0-0 away from Madison Square Garden.
Unlike their previous games, the Rangers won this one because of their defense. Panarin, who had four straight multiple-point games to start the season, was held off the score sheet until he hit the empty net with 14 seconds left.
“I thought it was a really good win,” coach Peter Laviolette said after his team’s third consecutive victory.
The only Toronto shooter to beat Shesterkin was Auston Matthews, the reigning Rocket Richard Trophy winner. He broke up Shesterkin’s shutout bid at 3:40 of the third period. It was Matthews’ only goal on his 15 shot attempts (nine on goal). In all, the Leafs outshot the Rangers 35-29 and out-attempted them 79-55.
“I thought there were a couple of glove saves in the middle of the game that were pretty special,” Laviolette said. “Then in the third period there were some that popped out and some chances for some of their big guys — he played a brilliant third period.”
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New York Rangers 4 – Toronto Maple Leafs 1
This game started much the same as the 5-2 win in Detroit against the Red Wings on Thursday, with the home team dominating play through the first half of the opening period. However, the Rangers began tightening up defensively after allowing six of the first eight shots, and the offense found its footing.
Lafreniere put New York ahead 1-0 at 11:44. Maple Leafs goalie Anthony Stolarz stopped Vincent Trocheck’s tip attempt, but the puck ended up in the slot and Lafreniere found it, moved to his left and wristed a shot past Stolarz’s glove for his third of the season. Rookie defenseman Victor Mancini, who scored his first NHL goal in Detroit, was credited with his first assist. Mancini was on the third pair with veteran Chad Ruwedel, who dressed for the first time this season.
Kreider made it 2-0 at 9:08 of the second during a delayed penalty. With Shesterkin on the bench for an extra attacker. Mika Zibanejad got his 300th NHL assist when he controlled the puck in the left circle and found Kreider alone at the far post. Kreider had an easy tap-in for his fourth goal of the season.
“I just put it there. It was a good play by him to make sure he was there,” said Zibanejad, who finished with two assists — as did Reilly Smith, the third member of the line.
Toronto got its first power play when Panarin was called for slashing at 12:21 but didn’t generate a lot of pressure. The Leafs had their best chance of the game to that point shortly after the power play ended, but Max Domi hit the post.
A high-sticking call against Kaapo Kakko at 15:48 gave the Maple Leafs their second power play, and Shesterkin had to work a lot harder this time to keep them off the board. His best stop came when he robbed John Tavares with his catching glove on a wide-open rocket from the slot.
Matthews scored the first third-period goal allowed by Shesterkin this season when he controlled the puck behind the net, wheeled into the slot and fired home a wrist shot.
The goal perked up the Maple Leafs, who controlled most of the play but couldn’t get another puck past Shesterkin despite outshooting the Rangers 18-11 in the final period. Their best chance came when William Nylander was alone between the circles about 15 feet away only to see Shesterkin get in front of his wrister. He also got his toe on a great chance by Matthews.
“I thought we sat back a little bit in the third period,” Laviolette said. “(Shesterkin) had to make some real good saves. I thought we played a really good first period and a good second period, but in the third we sat back a little bit too much.”
Kreider hit the empty net with 59.4 seconds left to ice the win, and Panarin added another empty-netter before the final horn.
The Rangers look to sweep their three-game road trip when they visit the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday.
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