NEW YORK — Igor Shesterkin felt postgame that he owed Tyler Seguin a nice dinner.
Late in the third period, with the New York Rangers clinging to a one-goal lead, Seguin redirected a shot into Shesterkin’s skate. The puck rebounded right to the Dallas forward, and he put another shot on net. Meanwhile, Shesterkin lunged backward. The puck slid across the ice and hit the goalie’s stick right before crossing the goal line.
“If he goes high, it would have been a goal,” Shesterkin said after leading the New York Rangers to a 3-1 win Tuesday. “I was lucky tonight.”
Talk about a key stick save from Shesterkin to keep the NYR ahead pic.twitter.com/CBI1hAfGgq
— Shayna (@hayyyshayyy) February 21, 2024
Perhaps a little lucky, but mostly just good. Shesterkin is 4-0-0 with a .937 save percentage in February and has been a big part of the Rangers’ eight-game winning streak. Against the Dallas Stars, one of the top teams in the Western Conference, coach Peter Laviolette believed he was the main reason New York won.
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“I think that he’s putting together some games now that are really giving us an advantage to win hockey games,” Laviolette said. “Tonight he gave us an edge. Especially the third period when we needed it, I thought he was at his absolute best.”
Shesterkin had a poor January, and the Rangers sat him two games after the All-Star break to get extra time working with goalie coach Benoit Allaire. That seems to have paid off. He’s playing with swagger, too. Shortly after a Vincent Trocheck empty-net goal late in the third all but clinched the win for the Rangers, the goalie took a few strides out of his crease, looking for a chance to try for an empty-net goal.
The Stars never gave him a clear lane to shoot, so Shesterkin had to settle for a 41-save night. The crowd showed its appreciation, serenading him with “I-gor! I-gor!” chants.
“We play our best every night, and we are on one page right now,” he said.
Panarin continues to dazzle
After his Stadium Series heroics, Artemi Panarin’s elite play continued. His line generated good looks early. On one, Alexis Lafrenière tried to get a puck to Panarin backdoor, only for it to bounce over his stick. Panarin stole a puck in Dallas’ defensive zone shortly after and passed it away for a Rangers shot attempt.
Finally, midway through the period, his line’s strong play paid off. Defenseman Ryan Lindgren put a shot wide of the net, and it bounced off the boards close to the crease. Lafrenière fought for it, and Dallas goalie Scott Wedgewood fell to his back, thinking the puck was under him. Little did he know, Panarin had grabbed possession. The winger found Adam Fox in the crease, and the defenseman fired a shot into the partially vacated net.
Coming out of the penalty box after committing a hook in the second period, Panarin ripped a shot on which Wedgewood had to make an impressive glove save. He also set up Trocheck for a partial breakaway. Wedgewood again robbed a goal.
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Panarin took a shot off his lower body in the third period and went to the bench in pain. He returned to the game, though, and finished with a team-high 68 percent expected goals for rate.
Lindgren shows toughness
Lindgren took a stick to the face during Sunday’s outdoor game. He had to get 10 stitches and sported a black eye for Tuesday’s game. He said his eye was badly swollen initially, but the swelling went down enough for him to play with a face shield against the Stars.
“He’s a warrior,” Laviolette said. “What’s going on under that face mask is tough. If he had a chance to play tonight, he was playing. It wasn’t a question.”
Confident Kakko emerging
Kaapo Kakko has a five-game point streak and netted the game-winning goal with a four-on-four tally against the Stars. Erik Gustafsson found him with a pass in the offensive zone faceoff circle, and he wristed it past Wedgewood.
“I think it was a good lane and just tried to shoot,” he said.
Kaapo Kakko extends his point streak to five games 🔥 pic.twitter.com/C6BhTJRQwF
— Jonny Lazarus (@JLazzy23) February 21, 2024
The goal was key for the Rangers. Miro Heiskanen scored shortly after on a Dallas power play. Instead of the game being tied, New York still led. Laviolette raved about Kakko’s play postgame, saying he deserved more ice time than the 12:21 he played.
“He’s demanding the puck and when he has it, it’s hard to take it from him,” Laviolette said. “He’s trying to find the areas to score goals and be effective. I think his line is doing well, they’re helping him, but he’s definitely noticeable out there. I think confidence does play into that.”
Kakko’s five-game point streak is tied for the longest of his career. He also had a five-game streak from Nov. 14-24 in 2021.
Big fourth line providing physicality
Rookie fourth-liners Adam Edstrom (7:47) and Matt Rempe (5:08) didn’t see much ice time because of the amount of special teams play and close score, but the Stars felt them when they were on the ice. The 6-foot-8 Rempe had five hits, all in the first period, and 6-foot-7 Edstom finished with four.
“I’m happy with the way they play,” Laviolette said. “They definitely brought a physical presence right off the bat. They get on the forecheck, they put it behind you and they’re coming. And they’re going to bang some bodies.”
(Photo: Brad Penner / USA Today)
