Igor Shesterkin’s impressive 41-save performance went unrewarded on Tuesday night, as the New York Rangers lost 5-3 to the Washington Capitals in an entertaining yet chaotic match at Capital One Arena.
This marks the Rangers’ second loss in their last three games (6-2-1), and they suffered defeat in their first road game of the season after a string of four victories. The Capitals outshot the Rangers 46-19 and created considerably more chances at even strength, outpacing them 34-14, according to Natural Stat Trick.
The statistics reflect the game, with the Rangers being largely outplayed by the Capitals (6-2-0), who celebrated two goals from Alex Ovechkin and a three-point night from Aliaksei Protas, who recorded one goal and two assists. Connor McMichael also found the net and led all players with 10 shots on goal. Logan Thompson made 16 saves, including six in the third period while the Capitals held on to a one-goal lead until Nic Dowd sealed the game with an empty-net score.
The Rangers’ goals came from Will Cuylle, Chris Kreider, and Filip Chytil. The excitement kicked off at 2:37 of the first period, when Matt Rempe and former Rangers defenseman Dylan McIlrath engaged in a fight at center ice. McIlrath gained the upper hand, drawing cheers from the crowd when he cut Rempe under the eye and knocked him down.
Shortly after, Ovechkin scored at 3:23 with a powerful shot that slipped past Shesterkin. Cuylle quickly responded, tying the game at 1-1 just 58 seconds later with a goal from a feed by Kaapo Kakko after Washington jumped to a quick 5-0 shot lead. However, Ovechkin scored again less than a minute later to put the Capitals back in the lead at 5:10, followed by McMichael’s goal at 8:58, extending the lead to 3-1. Despite the onslaught, Shesterkin managed to keep the score from getting worse, facing 19 shots in what was a challenging first period for the Rangers.
The Rangers capitalized on a power play early in the second period, with Kreider notching his sixth goal just 30 seconds in. However, Protas quickly countered for the Capitals at 4:30 to make it 4-2. The Rangers quickly answered again, as Chytil scored just 15 seconds later on a perfect feed from Victor Mancini.
Shesterkin made a remarkable save against McMichael on a breakaway, and then denied Protas during a wild sequence after the Capitals forward grabbed a broken stick from the bench mid-play. Despite attempts by the Rangers, including two good shots from Zibanejad and a 3-on-2 rush that resulted in a blocked shot, they finished the period trailing 4-3 and significantly outshot, 33-13.
Early in the third, Shesterkin came up big with a diving save against Pierre-Luc Dubois. The Rangers nearly tied the game but were denied by Thompson’s blocker and later hit the post. Thompson made an incredible save on Chytil near the end of regulation, but the Capitals managed to secure the game with Dowd’s empty-net goal at 19:20.
This match concluded the Rangers’ October schedule, and they will next face the Ottawa Senators at Madison Square Garden on Nov. 1.
