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The Rangers hadn’t played against the Capitals since their season-opening drubbing in Washington on Oct. 13 — a defeat that now feels like a distant memory.
All the strides the Rangers have taken in the 134 days since that forgettable opener were on full display Thursday night, when they defeated the Capitals 4-1 at the Garden, in the process leapfrogging the Penguins into second place in the Metropolitan Division.
In the Rangers’ first of 17 remaining division matchups on their schedule, the top line of Alexis Lafreniere, Mika Zibanejad and Chris Kreider led the way with each skater scoring a goal. Lafreniere and Zibanejad each recorded a goal and an assist in the win, which improved the Rangers to 33-13-5.
After Pittsburgh lost to the Devils, the Rangers gained one point on the Penguins and are now just three points behind the first-place Hurricanes in the division standings. The Rangers also snapped the Capitals’ five-game win streak on the road.
Both Kreider and Barclay Goodrow scored in the third period to put the game out of reach.
The Rangers’ top line not only combined for three goals, but the trio totaled nine shots on goal, five blocked shots and two hits from Lafreniere, who has improved with more and more reps on the right wing. After setting up Zibanejad with a slick drop pass in the first period, Lafreniere redirected a long shot from Ryan Lindgren for the 2-0 lead at 18:48 of the second.
Goalie Igor Shesterkin, making his seventh straight start and fourth in a row since the All-Star break, turned aside 36 of the 37 shots he faced to pick up his 25th win of the season. Capitals star Alex Ovechkin spoiled Shesterkin’s shutout with just over a minute left in regulation.
The Rangers were solid in the first period, matching the Capitals’ pace and keeping the visitors out of the dangerous areas of the ice. That allowed the Rangers to take a lead after the opening 20 minutes of a game for the first time since the All-Star break.
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Lafreniere dropped the puck back to Zibanejad, who unloaded a lethal one-timer for the 1-0 score at 12:57 for his 20th goal of the season. Just as the period ended, however, Ryan Strome was called for tripping Capitals winger T.J. Oshie. That put Washington on the power play to start the middle frame. Strome somehow tripped Joe Snively to give the Capitals a power play again at the end of the second.
Still, despite having to kill three penalties — two of which came at the start of a period — the Rangers contained the Capitals. They didn’t even need the power play, which has been a major source of offense this season. Instead, the Rangers got it done at even strength.
With Filip Chytil feeling under the weather with a non-COVID illness, head coach Gerard Gallant turned to Morgan Barron to fill the third-line center spot between Greg McKegg and Julien Gauthier. Barron led the Rangers with three shots on goal in the first period on the way to four on the night, in addition to three hits and one takeaway.
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