The Rangers were able to end the San Jose Sharks’ three-game winning streak by beating them 1-0 on Friday night in New York, but they had to even suddenly lose the services of goaltender Igor Shesterkin.
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In the third period, the Russian goalkeeper, who is off to a superb start to the season, had to be escorted out of the ice by the team’s athletic therapist and a teammate, holding his right leg elevated above the icy surface.
Shesterkin had blocked all 19 Sharks shots so far. After performing a parade while lying on the ice rink, he was unable to get up, visibly in pain. The video replay showed no contact between a skater and the goalie.
Ryan Strome scored the only goal for the Rangers in the first period. During a power play, the forward beat Adin Hill with a powerful slap shot. Adam Fox and Mika Zibanejad were his accomplices on the sequence.
Replacing Shesterkin, Alexandar Georgiev made nine saves for the combined shutout.
Coming back to Shesterkin, his health still seemed positive at the end of the match. “It’s not as bad as it seemed to be,” said head coach Gerard Gallant after the game.
The Jets pulverize the Devils
In Winnipeg, the New Jersey Jets and Devils had a 12-goal offensive festival that ended 8-4 in favor of the home team.
The Jets had also started the match as a lion, shaking the ropes three times in the first 7:39.
The Devils responded, however, by flashing the red light twice before the end of the first period, then two more times in the first 76 seconds of the second round.
The remainder of the game, however, favored the crowd favorites, who scored five unanswered goals.
Forward Mark Scheifele was a big contributor to this festival, scoring one goal in each period to pull off a hat trick, as well as amassing an assist. For his part, Blake Wheeler was an accomplice in three of his family’s successes. Nikolaj Ehlers (twice), Adam Lowry, Josh Morrissey and Kristian Vesalainen hit the Jets’ other goals.
Damon Severson, Jack Hughes, Nico Hischier and Ryan Graves provided the Devils’ response.