Shesterkin, Rangers shut out Devils for second straight game

NEW YORK --Igor Shesterkin made 16 saves to shut out the New Jersey Devils for the second straight game, and Artemi Panarin scored three points in the New York Rangers' 4-0 win at Madison Square Garden on Thursday.

Shesterkin made 27 saves in a 3-0 win against the Devils at Prudential Center on Tuesday. He has a shutout streak of 166:56 against the Devils dating to a 6-1 win March 4.
"Obviously, two shutouts are great, but I will reinforce the fact that it wouldn't have happened without the guys," Shesterkin said. "They're going down, blocking every shot, eating pucks. It never happens without them."
Panarin had two goals and an assist, giving him at least three points in seven home games this season, the most by a Rangers player since Jaromir Jagr in 2006-07.
Colin Blackwell had three assists, and Ryan Lindgren scored his first goal in 98 games for New York (21-16-6), which is 6-1-2 in its past nine.
Mackenzie Blackwood made 29 saves for New Jersey (14-22-6), which lost its fourth straight game. It is 1-6-2 in its past nine.
The Rangers are in fifth place in the MassMutual East Division, four points behind the fourth-place Boston Bruins, who won 4-1 at home against the New York Islanders on Thursday. The top four teams will qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
"We're playing the right way," Shesterkin said. "We're taking it step by step and we're trying to make the playoffs."
The teams play here Saturday and at Prudential Center on Sunday to finish the four-game set.
"We have to find the extra step, stride, battle, whatever it takes," Devils captain Nico Hischier said. "Just saying it is not enough, we have to dig in and do it out there."
Jacob Trouba gave the Rangers a 1-0 lead with a one-timer from the right face-off circle that beat Blackwood on the glove side 47 seconds into the first period.
Lindgren extended the lead to 2-0 at 6:39 with his second NHL goal. He scored Nov. 10, 2019, for the Rangers against the Florida Panthers.
"Happy for [Lindgren], he got that first goal," Rangers coach David Quinn said. "He's been playing really well. He's been doing a lot of good things offensively on top of what he brings night in and night out defensively. When you've got that balance to your game it certainly helps."

Panarin scored at 12:00 with a one-timer from the top of the left circle to finish a 2-on-1 with Ryan Strome (two assists) and give New York a 3-0 lead.
The Devils finished the first period with three shots on goal. Jack Hughes had a wrist shot from the top of the right circle go off the left post at 17:10.
"Lack of detail," New Jersey coach Lindy Ruff said. "Part of that is effort to get to your spot, your defensive assignment. We gave up chances we don't normally give up. We didn't have near the energy we had the other night. Where that energy was, where that effort was, it's a game that's pretty disappointing for us."
Panarin made it 4-0 by scoring from below the left circle off a pass from Strome at 12:51 of the second period.
"We had a lot of plays tonight with bad angles, didn't go through people, made some bad decisions with the puck," Ruff said. "Those bad decisions led to goals, led to chances against. You've got to play the game the right way.
"We got dominated at times."

Vitali Kravtsov had a goal overturned at 10:12 of the third period when the Devils challenged for offside. It would have been the forward's first NHL goal.
"Obviously, it's nice to dominate a game," Panarin said. "We obviously caught our game. But it was not ideal. We have some details to work on and improve for very serious games coming up. … We're in a race."
NOTES: Shesterkin is the first Rangers rookie goalie with two straight shutouts since Lorne Chabot did it twice in 1926-27, New York's inaugural season. He is the first Rangers goalie and 20th in the NHL history to get his first two NHL shutouts in back-to-back games. … Devils forward Pavel Zacha missed a second straight game with an undisclosed injury, and forward Jesper Bratt sat out with a lower-body injury. Each is day to day. They are tied for the New Jersey lead with 25 points this season (10 goals, 15 assists for Zacha; five goals, 20 assists for Bratt).