Igor Shesterkin made multiple marvelous saves after giving up an early soft goal Friday night and the Rangers’ special teams squashed the Washington Capitals as the Blueshirts moved within one victory of advancing in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Chris Kreider, Barclay Goodrow and Vincent Trocheck scored goals for the Rangers in a 3-1 win over Washington at Capital One Arena in Game 3 of their first-round matchup. The Rangers hold a 3-0 lead in the best-of-seven series and will move on if they win Game 4 Sunday night in D.C.
It was the 30th comeback win this season and second in the series for the Rangers.
Here are the takeaways…
-The Rangers’ penalty-kill was terrific, killing all six Washington power plays and getting a shorthanded goal from Goodrow. That’s significant because the Capitals had the best power play in the NHL after the All-Star break. But Washington could not score with a man advantage Friday night. The Rangers have killed 13-of-15 power plays during the series.
-The Rangers took a 3-1 lead with 4:38 left in the second period with a power-play goal. Trocheck and Mika Zibanejad worked a give-and-go of sorts with Zibanejad slipping a pass between the legs of defenseman Dylan McIlrath to Trocheck in front of the net and Trocheck beat Charlie Lindgren to the glove side. It was Trocheck’s second goal of the playoffs.
-The Caps got off to the fast start they craved in front of their own crowd, though it evaporated quickly. With 14:26 remaining in the first period, Washington’s John Carlson scored what appeared to be a soft goal, beating Shesterkin high on the stick side. Maybe the goalie just missed it? Whatever the case, it gave the Capitals a quick 1-0 lead. It was Carlson’s 20th career playoff goal.
-The Rangers have been a comeback team throughout this season and they answered almost immediately with a goal on yet another nifty deflection by Kreider. Just 34 seconds after the Caps grabbed the lead, Kreider, with two Capitals nearby, re-directed a shot from Zibanejad to tie the score at 1. It was Kreider’s 42nd career playoff goal, extending his team record. It was also his 67th career playoff point, tying him with Rod Gilbert for the third most in Ranger history. Brian Leetch (89) and Mark Messier (80) hold the top two spots.
-About two minutes later, Ryan Lindgren was whistled for a cross-check, giving Washington a power play. But it was the Rangers who got a goal. Just 10 seconds into the Caps’ man advantage, the Blueshirts broke out on a two-on-one rush. Trocheck passed to Goodrow in front and Goodrow beat Charlie Lindgren to the Washington goalie’s left. It was the second straight game the Rangers have scored a shorthanded goal in the series. They have done that four times in franchise history now – the last time came in 1990.
-The Rangers entered the game having gone 7-for-9 on their penalty kill in the series and the PK unit got plenty of work in the first period when the Blueshirts committed three infractions. They killed all three, although the Caps hit the post early in the second period as the Rangers tried to kill off the last 37 seconds of the final penalty of the first.
-Shesterkerin made several huge saves early and got some help from Ryan Lindgren on one nice scoring chance in the first. With the goalie down and the puck loose in front, the defenseman swept it out from the front of the net with Washington’s Dylan Strome lurking. Midway through the second, Shesterkin made a fabulous save with his right pad to frustrate Max Pacioretty in front of the crease. Later in the period, he stopped Connor McMichael with the right pad, too.
Later still in the second, Shesterkin stopped Hendrix Lapierre after an errant Alex Wennberg pass went right to Lapierre alone in front. Shesterkin only faced 15 shots in the first two periods, but several were spectacular. In the third period, he had notable saves in front on both Tom Wilson and Strome.
-The Rangers mostly did not engage when the Capitals tried to mix it up. Wilson seemed to be trying to bait Matt Rempe into a fight in the second period, but Rempe did not respond. Wilson yapped at Ryan Lindgren in the second, too, but nothing came of that, either. There were a few scrums late in the second period when Nic Dowd got a double-minor for roughing and K’Andre Miller got two minutes for roughing, too. In general, the series has been physical – after Friday night, the Rangers had been credited with 111 hits in the first three games and the Caps had 97.
-The Caps lost defenseman Trevor van Riemsdyk in the first period after he was hit by Rempe near the boards. Rempe was called for interference and van Riemsdyk skated to the dressing room. He did not return and the MSG Network broadcast said he was out with an upper-body injury and that the Caps were down to only five defensemen.
Who was the MVP? Igor Shesterkin
The Rangers’ goalie backed a strong penalty kill with 28 saves, several of them stunning stops from shots in front of the net.
Highlights
What’s next…
The Rangers look to sweep the Capitals in Game 4 in Washington, puck drop is set for Sunday at 8 p.m.
