Igor Shesterkin made 36 saves and Alexis Lafreniere and Mika Zibanejad each had a goal and an assist as the New York Rangers collected a 4-1 win over the visiting Washington Capitals on Thursday.
Barclay Goodrow and Chris Kreider also scored for the Rangers, with Kreider collecting his 34th goal of the season to remain near the NHL lead.
The Rangers are 5-0-1 in their last six games, a hot streak that has carried New York to second place in the Metropolitan Division.
Washington continues to sit in fourth place in the Metro, treading water with an 8-8-0 record over its last 16 games. Thursday’s loss snapped the Capitals’ five-game winning streak in road games, one shy of matching Washington’s regular-season franchise record.
Alexander Ovechkin scored with 62 seconds remaining for the Capitals’ lone goal of the game.
Though the Capitals outshot the Rangers by a 37-21 margin, Washington was short on dangerous scoring chances. The team’s season-long struggles with the power play continued, as the Capitals were 0-for-4 with the extra attacker on Thursday.
While Ovechkin’s late goal spoiled Shesterskin’s shutout bid, the Rangers goalie still delivered another another excellent performance. Arguably the favorite for the Vezina Trophy, Shesterskin has a 25-5-3 record and .940 save percentage in 33 games this season.
Ilya Samsonov stopped 17 of 21 shots for the Capitals.
At 12:57 of the first period, Lafreniere’s drop pass in the circle for Zibanejad resulted in a rifle of a slap shot and Zibanejad’s 20th goal of the season. The forward has now hit the 20-goal plateau seven times in his career, including each of the last five seasons.
Lafreniere collected a goal of his own with 72 seconds remaining in the second period. A Capitals turnover in their own end sent the puck back to Ryan Lindgren, whose shot was tipped in front by Lafreniere for his 11th goal of the season.
T.J. Oshie returned to Washington’s lineup after missing 14 games with an upper-body injury.
–Field Level Media