TAMPA, Fla. — The Rangers’ depth and elite goaltending are on full display during their three-game winning streak heading into Thursday night’s game against the Lightning at Amalie Arena.
Two shutouts in three games, thanks to goaltender Igor Shesterkin.
Braden Schneider replaced captain Jacob Trouba and Zach Jones was the next defensive lineman, allowing just one goal.
These are extremely important elements for an NHL team aiming for the Stanley Cup, and the Rangers are strengthening both with about a month left in the regular season.
“This is it,” Vincent Trocheck said Tuesday night after the Rangers shut out the Hurricanes, who are behind them in the Metropolitan Division standings. “This is what the future holds for both teams and other teams.”
The Rangers’ win over Carolina improved their record to 10-1-0 on the second night of back-to-back games this season, while also recording their fifth shutout in their last three games and Shesterkin’s second shutout.
Shesterkin held an opponent scoreless for the fourth time in his career in back-to-back games, joining Lorne Chabot (six), Ed Giacomin (five) and John Ross Roach (four) as Rangers goaltenders. He became the fourth person to accomplish this feat at least four times. times.
Between Shesterkin and Jonathan Quick, the Rangers have allowed one point on 74 shots over their last three games.
“Especially late in the season, heading into the playoffs, having a hot goaltender, or in our case, not necessarily a hot goaltender, just a really good goaltender, goes a long way,” he said with 40 postseason games on his resume. said Trocheck, who has a record of. . “Especially in the playoffs, you see a lot of teams that end up winning the cup game, and that goaltender got excited and did a handstand and stole a few games here and there. Shesty can do that at any time.”
With Trouba expected to be out for two to three weeks with a lower-body injury and Matt Lempe also suspended for the remaining three games, the Rangers, who had been waiting, got their chance.
Jones, who played in just his 20th game of the season on Tuesday, has more than filled his role as the seventh defenseman since October. It’s been more than a month since Jones returned to action on March 9, but the 23-year-old has looked like he’s been consistent all season in the past three games.
Along with Erik Gustafsson, they form a deft puck-moving duo, always looking to score.
The new fourth line with Rempe was successful offensively, providing a physical impact whenever the Rangers were on the ice. The 6-foot-8 and a half Rempe’s presence may have been missing Tuesday, but Johnny Brodzinski has been a fixture in this lineup long before the 21-year-old Rempe hit the NHL cannon.
Brodzinski replaced Lempe on the right wing of the fourth unit behind Jimmy Vesey and Barclay Goodrow, giving the line more speed than guts, but still making an impact.
Even without Trouba and Rempe, two of the team’s most physical players, the Rangers managed to play with some grunt against the Hurricanes. If they can continue their tough play and get those two back in, the Rangers will strive to be a formidable team in the playoffs.
“They were great [Tuesday night]” head coach Peter Laviolette said of the club. “To come here, we have to play a team that played as well as we did the night before and was missing some big, heavy bodies that made some physical plays for us. The guys really stepped up and played a great game. I thought it was really important to get out in the first period, the first period like we did.
“The minute the puck dropped, our players were ready. I thought we lost a little bit of wind at the end of the second. But we got it back in the third period and went back and forth for a while, but then we just hunkered down. We played good defense. It’s a great win against a good hockey team.”
