Igor Shesterkin made 26 saves for his fourth shutout of the season, and the Rangers won the NHL Presidents' Trophy for finishing with the most points in the regular season.
Igor Shesterkin made 26 saves for his fourth shutout of the season, and the Rangers won the NHL Presidents' Trophy for finishing with the most points in the regular season.
When you're a bad team, you tend to find ways to lose.
That is exactly what the Senators did on Monday Night in a 4-0 road loss to the New York Rangers. The Rangers are the antithesis of everything the Senators are, but also the epitome of what they want to become.
Igor Shesterkin made 26 saves for his fourth shutout of the season, and the Rangers won the NHL Presidents' Trophy for finishing with the most points in the regular season.
The Rangers ran out to a strong start in the first period, outshooting the Senators 7-1 in the opening minutes.
Shane Pinto made a dangerous backhand pass attempt to the middle that was tipped away at the offensive blue line, bouncing past Artem Zub. That led to Chris Kreider grabbing the puck, putting on the jets and finding Jack Roslovic backdoor to make it 1-0 Rangers.
Breakdowns of this ilk have plagued the Senators all season.
In spite of the Senators poor start, they rebounded, turning the shots on goal around from 7-1 for the Rangers to 10-8 for the Senators. Ottawa generated multiple opportunities but the Rangers had Shesterkin to bail them out on multiple occasions.
In the second period, the Senators' efforts earned them a power play. Unfortunately, they not only failed to score, they gave up a 2 on 1 to the Rangers, and Adam Fox doubled the Rangers lead to 2-0.
The third period continued the similar pattern of play. Both teams had their chances but one team converted and the other did not. One team got big saves and the other did not.
Artemi Panarin doesn't need many looks to find the back of the net. He beautifully tipped a Ryan Lindgren shot that went over Joonas Korpisalo’s glove to extend the Rangers lead to 3-0. Panarin's goal was his 49th butthat's as close as he got to 50.
Immediately following the goal, the Senators had numerous chances. Batherson once again created an opportunity on a 2 on 1 where he toe-dragged to wait out the last defender but his shot was blocked by Braden Schneider. Later, the Ridly Greig/Mathieu Joseph/Claude Giroux line garnered several chances but Shesterkin denied all opportunities.
Alexis Lafreniere made it 4-0 late in the third period to seal the win for the Rangers.
It could have been worse as Jimmy Vesey was hooked on a late shorthanded breakaway and failed to convert on the ensuing penalty shot – all part of a horrendous night on the power play for the Senators.
The Senators finish off their season against the Boston Bruins Tuesday night.
Game Highlights:
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9kxAMeSwMj0[/embed]