Igor Shesterkin proved himself once more tonight in an incredible game between the New York Rangers and St. Louis Blues. The Rangers controlled the lead for a long while to start this game. Alexis Lafreniere scored the first goal just under nine minutes into the first period. They kept this lead almost through the second period as well until things crumbled under them. Shesterkin did his best to keep the Rangers in control. He had some insane saves to keep this game alive.
Things quickly flipped on a dime in the final four minutes of this period. Ryan Strome scores another Rangers goal at the 16:36 mark of the second period. A two-goal lead, as we know, is the most dangerous lead in hockey.
The Blues swooped in and scored three goals in three minutes to overtake the lead 3-2 by the end of the second period. Ryan O’Reilly scores at 17:30, a minute and seven seconds later Ian Barbashev scores to tie it. Then, with 16 seconds left in the period, David Perron grabs the lead.
The Rangers came back with a boom in the third. Patrick Nemeth gets his first as a Ranger 7:27 into the period with an absolute longshot snipe while Ville Husso was out of the net. That ties things up but the Rangers are not done there. Chris Kreider breaks the tie on the power play because who else but Kreider could pull his team from the depth. Artemi Panarin added the final nail in the coffin with a goal at the 18:08 mark and the Rangers pull out the win.
I mentioned Shesterkin, who was phenomenal in this one. This game would have gotten extremely out of hand if not for him. He stopped 29 of 32 shots on net, a .906 save percentage. He is now 26-6-3 on the season and is showing no signs of slowing down.
Makes complete sense that Chris Kreider, the Rangers’ captain in my eyes, was the one to get that GWG. He and Panarin are now tied with five GWGs this season. Kreider also had four shots on goal in 18:54 played tonight. He was elected First Star of the Game, Panarin with three points (1G 2A) in 22:08 played was Second, and Adam Fox with three assists in 24:15 played, was awarded Third Star.
Incredible comeback win for the Rangers. Not only did they stop the Blues’ win streak they ended their small 2-game losing skid and advanced their record to 34-15-5 this season. They really needed this win after losing back-to-back games against Pittsburgh and Vancouver to end February. Their next game against the Devils should be an easy enough one. This team is fun to watch and sure, they hit a lil bump in the road but I’m sure they’ll find smooth sailing once more as we head into the crucial games as playoffs near.
Here are the full highlights from the game:
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Featured Image: New York Rangers Twitter
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