Shesterkin, Rangers Shutout Hurricanes in Divisional Showdown
With five weeks left in the NHL regular season, the New York Rangers and Carolina Hurricanes entered Tuesday in a tight race for first place in the Metropolitan Division. Prior to action, the Rangers sat in first place in the division with a 42-18-4 record and a four-point cushion over the second-place Hurricanes, who had a 39-19-6 record. Coming into the matchup on Tuesday evening, both teams were riding good momentum, as the Canes had won four of their last five games and were on a three-game win streak. Meanwhile, the Rangers had won seven of their last ten games. The late-season divisional matchup would turn out to be a low-scoring affair, as goalie Igor Shesterkin and the Rangers were able to come away with the 1-0 shutout victory over the Canes to secure the season series victory (2-1) over Carolina.
In the first period, the Rangers would go on the penalty kill within the first minute of action after an interference penalty on Jimmy Vesey. However, the Hurricanes were unable to capitalize on the man advantage. Mid-way through the period, the Rangers would have an opportunity to go on the power play after an interference penalty on Hurricanes winger Andrei Svechnikov. During the 5-on-4, the Rangers were unable to muster a shot attempt and were unsuccessful in breaking the scoreless tie. Prior to the first intermission, with eight seconds left, Rangers’ defenseman Adam Fox would give New York a 1-0 lead after Fox would shoot a one-timer that came off a rebound from a loose puck against the boards past Hurricanes goalie Pyotr Kochetkov. In the second and third periods, the two teams would put on a defensive display, as neither side would budge in giving either team possible momentum. Despite the Hurricanes’ best efforts late in the game with the extra attacker, the Canes’ attempts to find the equalizing goal would come up empty and the Rangers would come away with a crucial divisional road victory.
In the win, goalie Igor Shesterkin put on a phenomenal performance between the pipes for the Rangers, as Shesterkin made 28 saves and earned his second straight shutout victory and third of the season. In his past ten starts, Shesterkin has an 8-1-1 record for New York as they extended their lead over the second-place Hurricanes to a sixth-point edge with 17 games left in the regular season. Following the game, Shesterkin discussed his dominant goaltending performance for the Rangers. Shesterkin stated, “Today’s my mom’s birthday. Couldn’t play a bad game on her birthday.” The Rangers will look to further their lead in the Metropolitan Division as they travel to face the Lightning on Thursday night.
