2020-21 Rangers

Shesterkin excellent in 3-1 win over Buffalo

Posted on by Adam Rotter in 2020-21 Rangers

First Period:

Second Period:

  • Brendan Smith (5) Unassisted
  • Sam Reinhart (22) (Power Play) Assists: Casey Mittelstadt (9)

Third Period:

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  • Alexis Lafrenière (10) Assists: Ryan Strome (31), Adam Fox (42)
  • Mika Zibanejad (20) (Power Play) Assists: Chris Kreider (10), Ryan Strome (32)

Three Stars:

  • 3: Alexis Lafreniere
  • 2: Brendan Smith
  • 1: Igor Shesterkin

Stats:

Adam Rotter:

  • These two points come directly from Igor Shesterkin as he seemed to be the only Ranger to show up in the first period. He was outstanding throughout, made that big save right before Alexis Lafreniere’s winner and is the only reason why we aren’t talking about how a bad first period ended the Rangers season.
  • You could tell from the start that this was a game where the Rangers thought they could skill their way to a lead and a win, but Buffalo played hard and out played the Rangers badly in the first period. Things started to get better in the second and the Rangers got the two goals and played a good third, but they were a shaky goaltending start away from being down early and needing to rally to keep pace in playoff race. They found a way to win and their big guys came through in the third, but they have to get back to how they were playing before the games against the Devils, when they were playing straight line hockey and playing close to 60-minute efforts.
  • Brendan Smith is not someone the Rangers want to necessarily rely on, but he has come through in some big moments this year. He’s also struggled badly at times, but he has stepped up in the last few games without Jacob Trouba and scored a big goal tonight. I do think that the Rangers will seriously consider bringing him back, at a fraction of his current cap hit, to be a veteran, seventh defenseman and mentor.
  • Boston won so they remain four points ahead, but now the Rangers are only five back of the Islanders with a home and home on Thursday and Saturday. The Islanders do have a game in hand, but the Rangers can really make this a race if they can sweep these two games. That is a tall task and the odds are still against the Rangers making the playoffs, but Igor Shesterkin is playing great, Alexis Lafreniere seems to take big steps from game to game and they are making the most of this playoff push.