The Rangers had just enough offense along with Igor Shesterkin to defeat the Coyotes 2-1 in their home opener Monday. Chris Kreider in the first and Vincent Trocheck on the power play in the third were the goalscorers. Shesterkin stopped 26 of 27 shots and stoned Jason Zucker on a penalty shot to help secure the win. New York is home for Nashville on Thursday.
A few thoughts:
1) Shesterkin - in control between the pipes. Even at the end of the game when all hell kind of broke loose, Igor was calm, at least until Matt Dumba got agitated. On the penalty shot, Shesterkin out waited Zucker, almost psyching him out, before making a blocker save like it was a walk in the park. He is now 4-for-4 in his career on penalty shots. Other than Clayton Keller beating him on the power play, Igor didn’t look overly tested. But when he was need to make a save, especially during the 5-on-3 penalty kill at the end of the second period, Shesterkin was up to the task.
2) Kreider and Mika Zibanejad- chemistry is always apparent but not easy to create. The dynamic duo, Batman and Robin, use whichever term you want, CK20 and Zib and have it. They can read off each other and know where the other will be or are supposed to be, creating a prime scoring chance. New York’s first goal was due to that chemistry. Zib came down the right side, faked the forward to create additional space and force Connor Ingram to play for the shot, allowing Kreider to get open at the far post. Kreider, who has four goals in the three games played this season, also made the play by driving hard to the net and opening up to take the pass and put the puck in the empty net.
3) Penalty kill - beaten once by Keller in the first, the PK was huge in the second. That kill turned the game’s momentum, as New York went into the locker room
riding the high of killing tue majority of those short handed opportunities. With Alexis Lafreniere called for a slash and Ryan Lindgren an unsportsmanlike penalty for shooting the puck against the boards in frustration, Arizona had 1:19 of a two-man advantage to close out the period. Stoning that stretch and then having the buzz of the crowd as they headed into the break certainly played a role in the win.
New York Rangers Blogger • 
Join the Discussion:
»