Igor Shesterkin dominates in Rangers’ hard-fought shootout win over Blue Jackets-quang

At various points of this up-and-down season, the Rangers almost certainly would have found a way to lose a game like the one they played Saturday night against red-hot Columbus at Madison Square Garden.

They couldn’t break through on offense and relied on Igor Shesterkin, especially in the early going.

But this time, as has more often been the case of late, the Rangers were up to the task in a 1-0 shootout win, as they improved to 6-1-2 in January and drew within three points of the second wild card in the Eastern Conference.

Igor Shesterkin makes a save on Kirill Marchenko’s shot during the shootout in the Rangers’ 1-0 win over the Blue Jackets on Jan. 18, 2025.

Though the Rangers still have four teams to pass to get into playoff position, their chances look much stronger than they did last month.

Vincent Trocheck finally found the back of the net on the Rangers attempt in the second round of the shootout and Columbus couldn’t beat Shesterkin, who stopped 27 shots in regulation and overtime and then didn’t allow anything to get by him in the shootout.

“Goaltending was huge,” head coach Peter Laviolette said of Shesterkin, who recorded his second shutout of the season. “When it’s 0-0 in overtime, you know he’s done his job. He played really well for us and we need that. We’re in a position where we’ve got to win games [and] win points. He had to be sharp with his game because we weren’t able to give him support.”

The win opened another critical span for the Rangers, as Saturday was the first of a seven-game stretch in which the Rangers will play six games against teams ahead of them in the East.

It started with the Blue Jackets, who entered having won six in a row to put themselves in the top wild-card spot in the conference.

Vincent Trocheck celebrates with Igor Shesterkin after the Rangers’ shootout win over the Blue Jackets.

“Obviously, it doesn’t take a lot to look and see where we’re at, where we need to go and who we need to go through,’’ Laviolette said before the game.

Then the Rangers got outshot 14-4 in the first period, which remained scoreless thanks to some sterling play by Shesterkin.

The Rangers offense finally got going midway through the second period, but neither team could break through.

Vincent Trocheck scores the Rangers’ lone goal during the shootout session in their win over the Blue Jackets.

Igor Shesterkin looks back as Adam Edstrom is knocked into the net during the Rangers’ shootout win over the Blue Jackets.

But the night ended with the Rangers having picked up points in eight of their past nine games, even if they haven’t been scoring much.

They’ve scored more than three goals just once in their past five games, but improved effectiveness on defense has been key.

“I think maybe we were giving up that goal [early] when we didn’t [Saturday] and then you’re chasing,’’ Adam Fox said. “If you keep that zero on the board, it allows you to not press, not force, not give up chances.”

Igor Shesterkin makes a save during the Rangers’ shootout victory over the Blue Jackets.

Arthur Kaliyev tries to get up off the ice after breaking a blade on his skate during the Rangers’ shootout win over the Blue Jackets.

And that’s been the case much more often this month than at other points of the year, when the Rangers were in danger of falling out of playoff contention.

The Rangers still have considerable work to do, but nights like Saturday make it seem they just might be dangerous once again and it’s led to a sense of confidence throughout the team.

“Ask any team, when you’re winning games, it’s a lot better vibe and a lot better energy,’’ Fox said. “It would have been easy for us to pack it in when things weren’t going well for us and we were dropping in the standings. We know the team we have in here. We know what we’re capable of. We’re trying to take it game-by-game and work our way back up the standings.”