Shesterkin makes 31 saves, Rangers shut out Blue Jackets

NEW YORK -- Igor Shesterkin made 31 saves for his first shutout of the season in the New York Rangers' 4-0 win against the Columbus Blue Jackets at Madison Square Garden on Friday.

"He's athletic, he's strong, and everything seemed to hit him in the chest," Rangers coach Gerard Gallant said. "I think he's one of the top goalies in the League, no doubt."
Chris Kreider scored two power-play goals, giving him an NHL-high five, and Adam Fox and Artemi Panarin each had three assists for New York (5-2-1).
Gallant and Kreider each said they thought the Rangers had their most complete effort of the season, a 180 from how they played in a 5-1 loss to the Calgary Flames at the Garden on Monday that ended a four-game winning streak.
"I thought we managed the puck real well," Gallant said. "I didn't think we turned it over near as much in the neutral zone as we did the prior game. Our forecheck was a lot better. I just thought we had 20 guys ready to play tonight."

Elvis Merzlikins made 33 saves for the Blue Jackets (4-3-0), who are 0-2-0 on the road.
"Too many mental mistakes," Blue Jackets coach Brad Larsen said. "I liked our first six, seven minutes and then just blowing coverages. We talked about it, we had to skate. We stopped skating. We gave up way too much and it just snowballed the wrong way for us.
"It wasn't good enough."
The Blue Jackets had five shots on goal through the first 2:28 of the first period, but they couldn't take advantage and eventually the Rangers forecheck and speed through the neutral zone started to get the best of them.
Ryan Strome scored his first goal of the season to for a 1-0 lead at 12:29 of the first period.
Panarin carried the puck across the blue line and pulled up to wait for Strome, who was skating in as the trailer. He found him and Strome, with his momentum going forward, beat Merzlikins with a glove-side wrist shot from high between the circles.
"We kind of lose ourselves once they scored their first goal," Blue Jackets defenseman Zach Werenski said. "It kind of took the life out of us, for whatever reason, and we just couldn't find our game after that. There were shifts where we did some good things, shifts where we had chances, but for the most part it wasn't to a standard we know we can play at."
Alexis Lafreniere, the recipient of a terrific cross-slot pass from Fox, scored his third goal 3:02 later with a one-timer from the right circle to make it 2-0.
Fox carried the puck behind the goal line and curled around the net. He looked up as he got around the left post and saw a passing lane to Lafreniere, who was coming down the right circle. He delivered a pass through the high-traffic area onto Lafreniere's tape for the one-timer.
"I just turned and looked, and I was looking at the other side and then saw him on the backside," Fox said. "Nice shot by him to put that in."

Kreider made it 3-0 at 1:19 of the third period, scoring on a net-front deflection off a pass from Panarin, who was at the bottom of the right circle.
He extended the lead to 4-0 with an angled-stick redirection of Fox's pass from the left point as he was standing off to the side of the right post.
Kreider has scored all of the Rangers' power-play goals this season.
They were 1-for-13 on the power play (7.7 percent) in their previous four games and 3-for-26 (11.5 percent) in their first seven before going 2-for-3 on Friday.
"They come in bunches," Kreider said. "I think we were due. We were getting looks, we were hitting posts, and pucks were going in for us tonight. The puck was certainly moving quick. We've got an incredible four guys up there on the perimeter and the walls so we're always a threat to score."
Larsen pinned the blame for the Blue Jackets' lackluster performance on their top players, saying they have to lead, and they didn't Friday.
"They didn't play hard enough," Larsen said. "It wasn't just them, but they're our top guys for a reason and they've got to bring it. We get on the road here and they've got to bring it for three periods, not just for a start. They've got to come, and we weren't there."
NOTES: Shesterkin has three NHL shutouts. His first two came in a sweep of a home and home against the New Jersey Devils on April 13 and 15, 2021. … Kaapo Kakko returned to the Rangers lineup after missing four games with an upper-body injury. He had three shots on goal in 14:58 of ice time and was on the ice for Strome's goal. … Max Domi was back in the Blue Jackets' lineup after missing four games with a rib injury. He played 13:52 and had one shot on goal. … Rangers rookie defenseman Nils Lundkvist had an assist on Strome's goal for his first NHL point. … It was the first time the Rangers have shut out the Blue Jackets.