On a Saturday night game at Madison Square Garden, the New York Rangers didn’t start off so strongly but finished well in a 1-0 shootout victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets.
The Rangers got off to a slow start in the opening period and were outshot 15-4. Just five minutes into the first period, Rangers goalie Igor Shesterkin made a magnificent save stopping Cole Sillinger on the backdoor.
At 11:06, the Blue Jackets were called for the game’s first penalty and Adam Fantilli was sent to the box for slashing Reilly Smith. On the ensuing power play, Chris Kreider tipped a shot from the point by Adam Fox. Kreider’s redirection went off the post and the puck was cleared out of the crease by the Blue Jackets’ Zack Werenski. Columbus put on a flurry of offense at the end of the period, forcing Shesterkin to make three saves in a row at 18:52.
A minute into the second period, Blue Jackets’ Kent Johnson received a pass at the Rangers blue line before skating in and taking a shot that Shesterkin turned aside with his mask. A little over four minutes into the second period, Blue Jackets’ goalie Daniil Tarasov made two saves in a row against Mika Zibanejad and K’Andre Miller.
With five minutes left in the second period, the Rangers had a grade A scoring chance when Reilly Smith sent a pass to the front of the net that was tipped on goal by Adam Fox and stopped by Tarasov.
Not even 20 seconds inside the third period did the Rangers get another grade A scoring chance. This time it was Will Cuylle who found himself all alone in front of the Blue Jacket net with the puck, before deking to his backhand and getting stoned cold by Tarasov’s right pad.
For almost the remainder of the third period both teams played excellent defense, limiting the chances against either team’s goal. However, with a little under two minutes remaining in the period, the Blue Jackets had a grade A scoring chance. On this chance, Werenski passed cross ice to Damon Severson who received the pass just 10 feet away from Shesterkin on the backdoor, but Shesterkin made a sprawling save to keep things level.
With that the game went into overtime and the Rangers would hold the upper hand there. Despite conceding possession to Columbus in the first minute of overtime, the Rangers would control things after that. Rangers forward Mika Zibanejad had two breakaways but missed both of them in the overtime period which sent this game to a shootout.
In the shootout, Vincent Trocheck scored the second shot for the Rangers and Shesterkin came up with three big saves, including the game-winner against Kirill Marchenko to seal victory for the home side 1-0 in front of the Garden faithful.
Vincent Trocheck scores and Igor Shesterkin stopped all 27 in regulation and overtime – and then all 3 in the shootout for the @NYRangers win! pic.twitter.com/BhS2bXFq1y
— Rangers on MSG (@RangersMSGN) January 19, 2025
Shesterkin was named first star of the game for earning his second shutout of the season on 31 saves. Tarasov was given second start and Trocheck was named third star.
It’s a quick turnaround for the Broadway Blueshirts as they will travel to Montreal, Quebec to take on the Canadiens tomorrow night at the Bell Centre. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m., don’t miss it to see if the Rangers can make it three wins in a row.
