Shesterkin helps Rangers shut down Capitals

Igor Shesterkin made 36 saves for the New York Rangers in a 4-1 win against the Washington Capitals at Madison Square Garden in New York on Thursday.

Shesterkin, who has allowed two goals or fewer in each of his past six starts, lost the shutout when Alex Ovechkin made it 4-1 on a deflection with 1:02 remaining in the third period.
"It is kind of annoying that I let a goal in at the end," Shesterkin said. "But it doesn't really matter if it's a shutout or not."
Chris Kreider scored his 34th goal, and Alexis Lafreniere and Mika Zibanejad each had a goal and an assist for the Rangers (33-13-5), who are 5-0-1 in their past six games.
"It was a good, solid team effort," New York coach Gerard Gallant said. "It wasn't one of those games where there was a lot of chances both ways. We had some good chances, and we took advantage and buried our chances."

Ilya Samsonov made 17 saves for the Capitals (28-16-9), who had won five straight on the road and were playing their first game since Feb. 17.
"Maybe they got the bounces and we didn't, but it's a battle at the net-front, and I think tonight it's something they kind of outdid us in a little bit," Washington defenseman Nick Jensen said.
Zibanejad gave the Rangers a 1-0 lead at 12:57 of the first period, scoring his 20th goal of the season on a one-timer from the top of the right circle off a drop pass from Lafreniere on the rush.
"I tried to be an option for him, hoping that he sees me, and he did, obviously," Zibanejad said. "He's a really smart hockey player, sees the ice really well. I'm not surprised I got that pass from him."
Shesterkin stopped Garnet Hathaway on a breakaway at 5:10 of the second period.
Lafreniere made it 2-0 at 18:48 when he redirected Ryan Lindgren's shot from the left point after a Capitals turnover.
"I thought the first period was a pretty even hockey game," Washington coach Peter Laviolette said. "The second period was really the same. I don't like the goal right at the end of the second. The game's tight, it's close and we kick one up there. That's a tough one to give up."

Kreider increased the lead to 3-0 at 6:57 of the third period when he scored on the rebound of Adam Fox's shot.
Shesterkin made the save against Ovechkin on a partial breakaway at 10:56 before Barclay Goodrow made it 4-0 at 11:09 when he finished a 2-on-1 with Kevin Rooney by sliding a backhand between Samsonov's pads.
Capitals forward T.J. Oshie played 20:06 and had two shots on goal after missing 14 games with an upper-body injury.
"I was a little bit tired, if I'm being honest," Oshie said. "Long time off the ice. Haven't skated a lot, really, the whole season. I felt like my timing and reach were a lot better than I expected them to be."
NOTES:Zibanejad has scored at least 20 goals five straight seasons and seven times in the NHL. He has scored 11 points (five goals, six assists) in the past eight games. … Shesterkin is 12-1-1 in his past 14 starts. … Fox has scored 13 points (two goals, 11 assists) in his past 11 games. … Rangers defenseman Patrik Nemeth left the team to be with his wife, who is expecting. … Rangers forward Ryan Strome was called for a tripping penalty at 20:00 in each of the first and second periods. … The Capitals were looking to win three in a row for first time since Nov. 24-28. … Ovechkin needs five goals to pass Jaromir Jagr (766) for the third in NHL history. … Capitals center Nic Dowd won eight of nine face-offs (88.9 percent). … Capitals defenseman Justin Schultz was minus-2 in 17:19 after missing one game with an upper-body injury.