Shesterkin makes 42 saves for Rangers in win against Jets

WINNIPEG-- Igor Shesterkin left briefly but made 42 saves for the New York Rangers in a 4-1 win against the Winnipeg Jets at Bell MTS Place on Tuesday.

"Shesterkin] is 6-1-0," Rangers coach David Quinn said. "From where I sit, it doesn't matter what league he's in, it doesn't matter what building he's in, it doesn't matter about anything. He just has a net behind him and he's going to keep the puck out of it, which is a simple approach and it works."
***[WATCH: [All Rangers vs. Jets highlights]*
Henrik Lundqvist made one save for New York in the final 6:04 of the first period after Shesterkin went to the locker room for concussion protocol following a collision with Rangers defenseman Tony DeAngelo and Jets forward Andrew Copp with 11:48 remaining. The rookie goalie returned to start the second period.
"He doesn't really look like he's going crazy in net," Rangers defenseman Jacob Trouba said. "He's always in the right position. Minimalist, kind of, in his movements, but gets to the right places and fights through traffic and he's a good goalie."

Nikolaj Ehlers scored, and Connor Hellebuyck made 28 saves for the Jets (29-24-5), who had a three-game winning streak end.
"Their guy was pretty good," Winnipeg coach Paul Maurice said. "There were some that we missed on, broke some sticks, didn't get a tip on. There's some of that stuff. But their guy made some pretty good saves in tight. He was positionally, really, really square to pucks. He was good."
Chris Kreider scored twice for the Rangers (28-23-4), who have won five of their past seven games with Shesterkin winning four.
"A rising tide lifts all ships and the team's playing well," Kreider said. "Good chemistry up and down the lineup. Guys are getting more comfortable with each other. Young guys are growing up every single day. It's unbelievable to see how much everyone's progressing, how much everyone's improving, so that's something we've focused on and that's something we've got to continue to focus on."
Kreider scored with 35 seconds remaining in the first period to give the Rangers a 1-0 lead, and at 7:30 of the second period to make it 2-0.
New York scored twice in the opening 1:28 of the third period. Ryan Strome made it 3-0 at 53 seconds, and Mika Zibanejad extended the lead to 4-0 35 seconds later. Ehlers ended the shutout at 4:35, making it 4-1.
"We had a plan before coming out for the third and we weren't able to do that," Ehlers said. "You get two goals against and you keep going. The game isn't over. I think the way we played in the third we worked our (butts) off, we got pucks deep and got some big chances."

They said it

"I was looking forward to it. It's definitely fun. Yet we wanted to win the game and it's nice that we won the game, but I was going to remember it either way." -- Rangers defenseman Jacob Trouba on his first game in Winnipeg since being traded by the Jets on June 17, 2019
"Obviously you get tired, but we get paid to do a job out there. We played eight really good games against really good opponents, really tough opponents. And we played them well. Tonight, like I said, it's chalked up to a lot of missed opportunities from us." -- Jets forward Jack Roslovic

Need to know

Kreider has 14 points (10 goals, four assists) in his past 13 games. ... Zibanejad got his 200th NHL assist in his 533rd game. ... Panarin had an assist and has 29 points (eight goals, 21 assists) in his past 18 games. ... Trouba played his first six NHL seasons with Winnipeg before being traded for defenseman Neal Pionk and a first-round pick in the 2019 NHL Draft.

What's next

Rangers: At the Minnesota Wild on Thursday (8 p.m. ET; FS-N, FS-WI, MSG, NHL.TV)
Jets: Host the San Jose Sharks on Friday (7 p.m. ET; TSN3, NBCSCA, NHL.TV)