Igor Shesterkin bails out Rangers in narrow win over Senators

Igor Shesterkin made 40 saves and Alexis Lafreniere collected a goal and an assist to lift the host New York Rangers to a 2-1 victory over the Ottawa Senators on Friday. Artemi Panarin responded to seeing his season-opening eight-game point streak come to a halt in New York’s 5-3 loss to the Washington Capitals on Tuesday by scoring his team-leading seventh goal of the season. Shesterkin made point-blank saves on Josh Norris in the first period and Claude Giroux in the second.The former Vezina Trophy recipient also benefited from Adam Gaudette missing an open net from a sharp angle in the second period. Gaudette made amends by scoring in the third period for his fifth goal in his last four games. Linus Ullmark turned aside 16 shots for the Senators, who were held in check after erupting for an 8-1 victory over the St.

Louis Blues on Tuesday.Ottawa has lost three of its last four games overall. The Senators went 0-for-5 on the power play.

Ottawa entered the game with the NHL’s second-ranked power play (42.9 percent). Lafreniere stripped Norris in the offensive end and Panarin quickly pounced on the loose puck to lead to the game’s opening goal.He used Senators defenseman Travis Hamonic as a screen and wristed a shot from above the left circle that sailed past Ullmark at 3:03 of the first period. Panarin has torched the Senators in his career, recording 29 points (10 goals, 19 assists) in 23 games. Norris attempted to respond, but he was denied on the doorstep by a diving stop by Shesterkin near the eight-minute mark of the first period. New York doubled its advantage while on the power play early in the third period.

Reilly Smith backhanded a pass between his legs to Filip Chytil, who alertly sent a feed toward the goalmouth that caromed off the skate of Lafreniere and into the net at 2:56. Ottawa trimmed New York’s lead to 2-1 at 12:28 of the third after captain Brady Tkachuk’s sharp no-look pass from the corner found Gaudette, who converted f...