Igor Shesterkin made a season-best 41 saves and the host New York Rangers extended their winning streak to a season-high eight games by holding on for a 3-1 victory over the Dallas Stars on Tuesday night.
Shesterkin won his fourth straight start since getting a three-game break and helped the Rangers deliver a strong follow-up to their rousing 6-5 overtime win against the New York Islanders in Sunday’s Stadium Series game.
Shesterkin highlighted his 23rd win by making a strong left pad save on Jamie Benn with about six minutes left, then diving in the crease to stop an attempt by Tyler Seguin before the puck crossed the red line. He also protected the one-goal lead by doing a split and making a sprawling glove save on Wyatt Johnston with 2:34 left in the second.
Adam Fox and Kaapo Kakko scored to help the Rangers reach eight straight wins for the first time since winning nine in a row Oct. 25-Nov. 15, 2015. Vincent Trocheck added an empty-net goal with 1:41 left in the third period.
Miro Heiskanen scored a power-play goal as Dallas dropped its third straight (0-1-2) and fell to 12-4-3 in its past 19 games.
Goaltender Scott Wedgewood gave the Stars a chance at the win by making 23 saves.
After committing two early giveaways that were not costly, Fox opened the scoring with 12:14 remaining in the first.
Artemi Panarin made a savvy play by stealing a loose puck from the crease. He circled the net and went to the red line before passing to Fox, who went to one knee and lifted a one-timer from the right circle by Wedgewood.
Kakko scored with 18 seconds left in a 4-on-4 with 11:37 remaining in the second. Erik Gustafsson got the puck from K’Andre Miller and crisscrossed the slot before passing to Kakko, who moved lower in the right circle and lifted a wrist shot that caromed off Wedgewood’s right arm and over his stick.
Dallas made it 2-1 less than a minute later by getting the Rangers to scramble near the crease. Shesterkin stopped a tip-in try by Benn, but Heiskanen swooped in for the loose puck near the goal line on the left side and lifted a shot into the vacated left side of the net.
–Field Level Media
