The New York Rangers will look for their fifth straight win when they host the San Jose Sharks on Friday night.
The Sharks are on a streak of their own, having won three straight to open a five-game road trip during which they have allowed just three goals.
Erik Karlsson scored 39 seconds into overtime to give the Sharks a 2-1 win at the New York Islanders Thursday night.
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Rangers on a solid streak
The Rangers are rolling, having won eight of their last nine games and picking up at least one point in 11 of their last 13 (9-2-2). Overall, they have picked up a point in 17 of 21 games.
“The first 10 games (of the season) I’d say we weren’t playing well but we found a way to get points,” Rangers coach Gerard Gallant said. “The last 10 games I got no issue with the way we played.”
New York has won six straight home games and is coming off a 4-1 win against the Philadelphia Flyers on Wednesday.
Igor Shesterkin made 33 saves and Chris Kreider scored his 16th goal of the season. Artemi Panarin had a goal and an assist, Jacob Trouba had his third goal in four games, and Kaapo Kakko had two assists.
“It feels great,” said Kakko, who has three goals and five assists in his past seven games. “I think we are playing great right now.”
Panarin has four points (two goals, two assists) in his past two games and leads the Rangers with 23 points, including six goals.
Shesterkin improved to 12-3-2 with a 2.15 goals-against average this season.
In its last three games, New York is 12-for-12 on the penalty kill and this year is 11-0-1 in games it has not allowed a power-play goal. Meanwhile, the Rangers power play has connected three times in the past four games and is 13-for-61 (21.3 percent) on the man advantage this season.
Rangers recall Morgan Barron
The New York Rangers recalled Morgan Barron from the Hartford Wolf Pack on Thursday.
They selected 6-4, 220 pound forward in the 6th round (174th overall) of the 2017 NHL Entry Draft. He’s a winger turned center and doing well in the AHL playing in all situations.
In 15 games for the Wolf Pack he has registered 6 goals and 9 points.
It’s possible that either Rooney or Goodrow may be unavailable for tomorrow’s contest against the San Jose Sharks to prompt the call up. Both players missed yesterday’s practice with what the team labeled as maintenance days.
In the team’s win over the Flyers on Wednesday, Goodrow took a puck to the face that shattered his visor and caused a cut over his eyes. “[Goodrow] got some stitches,” Gerard Gallant said. “He’ll be fine tomorrow but I’m sure the eye is going to close a little bit.”
Igor Shesterkin is likely to get the start with Alexandar Georgiev penciled in for Saturday’s contest against the Blackhawks.
Sharks playing well on the road
“I like our road mentality and perseverance,” Sharks coach Bob Boughner said. “We have to grind teams down to win. We have to manage the puck and manage leads.”
Nick Bonino also scored and Timo Meier had two assists. He has four goals and two assists in a three-game point streak and leads the Sharks with 24 points (11 goals, 13 assists). Adin Hill made 24 saves against the Islanders and had a lot help from his defense.
“I don’t know how many shots that came from the blue line actually got to our net, so it shows what a good job our guys have done with blocking shots and it’s commitment,” said Hill, who was making just his second start in nine games. “Everyone in that locker room is committed to playing a defensive game and we like to win these tight games. That’s our identity.”
James Reimer will likely return to the net on Friday for the Sharks, who have won five of their past six games after losing six of eight.
San Jose forward Jonah Gadjovich left the game after he blocked a shot with the inside of his left foot in the first period. Boughner said X-rays were negative.
Rangers have some frontrunners for awards
Who will win the Vezina? Who has the edge for the Norris and MVP? Projected winners here.
–Field Level Media contributed to this report
