The Rangers looked like a team that was willing to tackle the highest scoring ladder in their division.
With an uphill battle according to a schedule they face, the Rangers started Thursday night with a 4-2 victory over the mighty capitals in Madison Square Garden.
It will not be lost on the Rangers that the rest of February will be a litmus test for a play-off place in the charged East. But head coach David Quinn wants his team to concentrate on one game at a time, and the Rangers have succeeded and played as if the Capitals were the only team in their minds.
Behind two goals from Ryan Strome, the Rangers achieved their first consecutive wins of the season by fitting Washington’s hardships along the boards and playing a strong 200-foot game for the full 60 minutes.
Pavel Buchnevich’s empty net was the assurance and the victory.
Rangers goalkeeper Igor Shesterkin followed well most of the night, starting with a stop on a partial breakaway from Alex Ovechkin to get the game underway. The rookie net-lesser, who finished with 31 saves, had goals only to Carl Hagelin, on a bounce at 18:57 from the second, and to Ovechkin, on a sharp halfway through the third, giving it a 3-0 lead. 2-match made.
Ovechkin’s 709th career goal earned him the only seventh place on the NHL’s list of everyday goals.
Washington exerted the pressure after scoring a one-goal in both the second and third periods. The Capitals made a penalty kick on Brett Howden with another 10 seconds left in the midfield, and had the advantage of starting the third.
But the Rangers expanded their series of penalty kicks and stifled all four Capitals’ powerplays to bring the unit to a perfect 13-for-13 series over the past three games.
The Rangers had one of their most complete first periods of the season, leading 1-0. Streams deflected an Adam Fox shot at 1:41 and the Rangers managed to protect it while sustaining the pressure and tying it up occasionally.
Anthony Bitetto scored his first goal since November 2017 after attacking the goal and rounding off the second point with a hand shot at 9:15 to increase the Rangers 2-0. Kevin Rooney earned the help at stake and extended his points lead to three games.