In the first game of the season, the Battle of the Hudson, goaltending was a big factor.
Instead of the Rangers, who have consistently dominated in net in recent years, the Devils benefited from a stellar performance from goaltender Jakob Markstrom, winning 5-1 against their tri-state rival in the regular season for the first time since March. did. Monday night, March 30, 2023, at Madison Square Garden.
Mika Zibanejad said after the game: “I don't think any of us would be here without that will and desire and attitude to turn this situation around. But it still has to be expressed on the ice.” . “We need a balance of desperation, but also calmness. … It's not the best of times and we're obviously losing a lot of games.
“We still have to fight. We still have to work. There's nothing else we can do, there's no magic to it, we just have to keep working and find a way.”
Rangers goaltender Igor Shesterkin hasn't been able to cover up his team's mistakes as effectively as he did earlier in the season.
That situation continued for several weeks, even though Shesterkin kept the Blueshirts competitive in unrelated games.
But on Monday night, Shesterkin crushed himself just like the rest of his team, suffering a five-game losing streak for the first time in his six-year NHL career.
At some point, repeated significant stress will cause the spine to cave in.
It's not like the Rangers were stumbling on Shesterkin's shoulders in this 1-6 overtime deficit, but the 28-year-old occasionally deviated from his best self as the team sank into uncertainty.
Shesterkin certainly wasn't a great netminder on the ice Monday night.
That was evident in Markstrom's first season with the Devils, as he stopped 39 of 40 shots compared to Shesterkin's 23 saves.
The Swedish netminder was the best penalty killer on the ice, stopping eight of the Rangers' nine shots on four power plays.
“We were putting the puck in the net,” said Adam Fox, who was on the ice to watch the Rangers' only goal, by Chris Kreider on a power play in the second period. “[Markstrom] I think it was a great match. It was a tough start, but then they obviously scored on the power play. We were putting the puck on the net. I thought we had good competition. Even the third one was clearly too slow. ”
The game set the tone after Shesterkin allowed two goals on the Devils' first four shots.
The Rangers continued to miss opportunities on odd-man rushes, and less than 90 seconds into the game, Jesper Bratt made a 2-on-1 rush of his own to take a 1-0 lead.
Conceding early goals has been a worrying trend for Rangers this season, and it continues despite the team acknowledging it.
The Devils' power play scored two goals in the second period, and Jack Hughes himself scored twice – the first on a 5-on-5, the second on the man advantage.
Hughes was outstanding every shift this shift, scoring three points and making a game-high eight shots on goal.
Twenty-four games into the season, the Rangers have allowed five or more runs seven times.
They may have just snapped a five-game losing streak with a win over the lowly Canadiens last weekend, but a one-goal victory over the bottom team in the Eastern Conference is hardly a win to build on.
It's been more than six weeks since Rangers last beat a top team.
Devils fans gathered at the Garden on Monday night to mock Shesterkin, the Rangers and Rangers fans after the team went 0-4 in last season's regular season series.
What a difference less than a year can make!
“We have to win hockey games,” head coach Peter Laviolette said. “We're a good hockey team. Right now, we're not playing very good hockey. We need to be better. Those are things we can control. Those answers are in the room. That's the answer we need to find as a group.”
