Rangers score 6, Shesterkin stops 33 in shutout of Penguins

NEW YORK -- Igor Shesterkin made 33 saves for his second shutout of the season, and the New York Rangers had five goal-scorers in a 6-0 win against the Pittsburgh Penguins at Madison Square Garden on Saturday.

It was Shesterkin's first shutout since Nov. 1, when he made 19 saves in a 1-0 overtime win against the Philadelphia Flyers. He has a personal five-game winning streak.
"It meant a lot for me, of course," Shesterkin said. "I miss that taste and I am so happy right now."
Artemi Panarin scored twice, Mika Zibanejad had a goal and two assists, and Vladimir Tarasenko and Jacob Trouba each had a goal and an assist for the Rangers (40-19-10), who won their third straight.
Chris Kreider scored, and Patrick Kane and K'Andre Miller each had two assists for New York, which had six players with at least two points.
The Rangers came off a 4-2 win against the Penguins at the Garden on Thursday, and are 5-0-1 in their past six. New York pulled within five points of the New Jersey Devils for second place in the Metropolitan Division following New Jersey's 4-2 loss at the Florida Panthers on Saturday.
"We're building chemistry," Kane said. "I know a lot of guys have been here a long time, but there are still some new players here that are getting accustomed to everything. It seems like we're just building every day, every game."

Tristan Jarry allowed four goals on 17 shots before being replaced by Casey DeSmith with 13:17 remaining in the second period for Pittsburgh (34-25-10), which has lost three straight and was shut out for the second time this season (6-0 at the Los Angeles Kings on Feb. 11). DeSmith made five saves on seven shots.
"I don't think you're going to look at tonight as an example of how we've played lately," Penguins captain Sidney Crosby said. "We've played pretty good hockey lately. Tonight, obviously, was tough. We weren't good and it showed on the scoreboard."
Pittsburgh fell two points behind the New York Islanders for the first wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference following New York's 4-1 win at the San Jose Sharks on Saturday. The Penguins hold a one-point lead over the Panthers for the second wild card.
Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan called the loss Saturday "a humbling experience for all of us."
"For all intents and purposes, we're in the playoffs right now and that's how we feel, we're in the playoffs right now," Sullivan said. "We've got an opportunity to solidify a playoff spot. That's what we're trying to do. We're trying to keep our eye on the ball that's right in front of us.
"Tonight, it was the Rangers. It didn't go our way. The reality is nothing's changed. We still have control of our destiny. We've got to go out, get ready and win the next game."
Zibanejad gave the Rangers a 1-0 lead at 5:10 of the first period with a low backhanded shot past Jarry.

Panarin made it 2-0 at 19:49, scoring a power-play goal off a short-side shot from the left circle.
Shesterkin made 15 saves in the first period.
"They controlled the first period a little bit, but we took advantage of our chances," Rangers coach Gerard Gallant said. "Igor made some good saves, probably frustrated them a little bit, and we buried our chances. That was the difference in the game."
Tarasenko scored the first of four New York goals in the second period at 3:54, making it 3-0 on a one-timer off a back-and-forth passing sequence with Zibanejad during a 3-on-1 rush with Panarin on the far side.
Kreider then made it 4-0 at 6:43, darting to the net and redirecting Kane's backhanded pass through the slot past Jarry.
"You know 'Kreids' drives the net," Kane said of Kreider. "I tried to chip it over at first and it got blocked, but I knew he was going backdoor, so you just try to get it to him on his forehand. He's not going to miss too many of those."

DeSmith replaced Jarry after Kreider's goal, but Trouba's high shot from below the right circle went in off his mask to make it 5-0 at 8:39.
Panarin scored again at 16:38 for the 6-0 final, playing Kane's pass off his left skate to his stick and then into the net from below the left hash marks.
"I mean, you win 6-0, I think it says a lot of good things," Kane said. "Igor maybe hid some of our mistakes a little bit, but it was a good team effort."
NOTES: Penguins defenseman Marcus Pettersson left the game at 3:51 of the third period and was being evaluated for a lower-body injury, Sullivan said. Pittsburgh was already without defensemen Jeff Petry and Jan Rutta. Petry missed the game with an upper-body injury and was replaced by Chad Ruhwedel. Rutta missed the game with an undisclosed injury and was replaced by Mark Friedman, who was recalled on an emergency basis from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League on Saturday. … Kane's two assists gave him 1,232 NHL points, tying him with Phil Housley for second-most in NHL history among United States-born players. Mike Modano is first with 1,374.