Not
playing
their
best
hockey
against
an
opponent
full
of
desperation,
the
New
York
Rangers
relied
on
a
familiar
recipe
to
move
on
in
the
NHL
playoffs.
Artemi
Panarin
scored
the
go-ahead
goal
on
the
power
play
early
in
the
third
period,
Igor
Shesterkin
made
23
saves
and
the
Presidents’
Trophy-winning
Rangers
finished
off
a
sweep
of
the
Washington
Capitals
with
a
4-2
victory
in
Game
4
on
Sunday
night
to
advance
to
the
second
round.
“The
things
that
we’ve
done
in
the
regular
season
over
82
games
is
something
that
we
continue
to
do,”
center
Mika
Zibanejad
said.
“We’ve
been
building
toward
this,
and
I
still
think
we
can
be
better,
but
a
great,
hard-fought
series
and
it’s
nice
(to
get)
a
win.”
Trade
deadline
pickup
Jack
Roslovic
sealed
it
with
an
empty-netter
with
51
seconds
left,
and
the
Rangers
will
next
face
either
the
Carolina
Hurricanes
or
crosstown-rival
New
York
Islanders
with
a
spot
in
the
Eastern
Conference
final
at
stake.
Carolina
leads
that
series
3-1.
“We
have
extra
few
days
for
rest,
and
it’s
always
good,”
Shesterkin
said.
“That’s
more
time
for
practice
and
build
our
confidence
and
see
who
we
will
play
against
next
round.”
They’ll
get
that
rest
thanks
to
Panarin’s
goal
with
16:39
left
in
regulation,
11
seconds
after
T.J.
Oshie
was
penalized
for
high-sticking
Vincent
Trocheck,
which
helped
them
avoid
overtime
or
a
return
to
Madison
Square
Garden
for
Game
5
on
Wednesday.
They
needed
just
four
to
vanquish
the
Capitals
and
become
the
first
team
to
advance
this
spring.
“We’re
happy,”
Panarin
said.
“We’ll
keep
going.
I
can’t
say
we
played
bad.
We
played
good,
but
I
think
we
can
play
better.”
New
York
moves
on
thanks
to
another
dominant
performance
from
Trocheck,
who
was
the
best
player
on
the
ice
all
series.
Trocheck
long
before
drawing
the
crucial
penalty
scored
on
the
power
play
and
broke
up
a
scoring
chance
by
Alex
Ovechkin,
who
was
held
off
the
scoresheet
entirely
through
four
games
—
the
first
time
that
has
happened
in
a
single
postseason
in
the
Capitals
captain’s
15
trips.
“I
don’t
know,”
Ovechkin
said
after
just
five
shots
in
four
games.
“I
don’t
have
that
kind
of
touches.
I
try
to
find
a
different
way
to
put
the
puck
in.”
But
he
was
not
Washington’s
only
problem,
and
part
of
the
lack
of
offense
was
Shesterkin,
who
several
times
sparked
chants
of
“Igor!
Igor!”
from
the
many
Rangers
fans
in
attendance.
He
turned
aside
Dylan
Strome
14
seconds
after
Kaapo
Kakko
scored
in
the
first
minute
to
put
them
ahead
and
later
made
back-to-back
saves
on
Tom
Wilson’s
point-blank
chances
on
the
doorstep.
“I
thought
he
was
excellent,”
coach
Peter
Laviolette
said.
“When
the
game
is
hanging
in
the
balance,
he
still
comes
across
and
he
makes
a
huge
save.”
Trocheck,
Shesterkin
and
MVP
candidate
Panarin
leading
a
victory
is
nothing
new,
but
Kakko
contributing
made
him
the
10th
New
York
player
to
score
a
goal
in
the
series.
That
came
after
Nick
Jensen
turned
the
puck
over
on
his
first
shift
back
from
a
two-week
injury
absence,
and
Kakko
beat
Charlie
Lindgren
for
a
goal
that
could
boost
his
confidence
after
a
rough
regular
season.
Lindgren,
who
has
not
lacked
self-belief,
couldn’t
again
play
the
hero
despite
stopping
19
of
the
22
shots
he
faced.
Youngsters
Martin
Fehervary
and
Hendrix
Lapierre
scored
for
Washington,
which
was
visibly
exhausted
after
expending
so
much
energy
just
to
make
it
in.
“This
team
just
never
gave
up,”
Strome
said.
“This
team
fights
for
every
inch,
and
we
fought
to
the
very
end.
We
put
our
lives
on
the
line
in
this
series
and
obviously
came
up
short.
They’re
a
great
team.”
UP
NEXT
Rangers:
Prepare
to
face
the
Hurricanes
or
Rangers
in
a
series
that
cannot
start
until
Thursday
at
the
very
earliest
and
likely
after
that.
Capitals:
Go
into
another
offseason
of
change
with
questions
about
the
future
of
winger
T.J.
Oshie,
among
others.
___
AP
NHL
playoffs:
https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup
and
https://www.apnews.com/hub/NHL