Shesterkin makes 21 saves, Rangers shut out Blue Jackets | NHL.com

Vincent Trocheck scored twice and Alexis Lafreniere and Artemi Panarin each had a goal and an assist for the Rangers (33-28-6), who have won two straight after a four-game losing streak (0-2-2).

New York now holds the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference with 72 points.

Daniil Tarasov made 18 saves for the Blue Jackets (31-27-8), who have lost three straight and five of their past six. They have been shut out in three of the past five games, including 4-0 to the Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday.

Lafreniere opened the scoring at 1:43 of the first period. Blue Jackets defenseman Damon Severson lost the puck to Mika Zibanejad left of the net. Tarasov went to poke check the puck but Zibanejad managed to slip a backhanded pass to an open Lafreniere for the easy score into the open net.

Panarin made it 2-0 at 11:36 of the second period when he skated in from the left wall and sent a wrist shot past Tarasov’s blocker from the left circle. He has 12 points (six goals, six assists) during an eight-game point streak.

Trocheck extended the lead to 3-0 at 14:38 of the third period when he scored from the right circle from a Panarin cross-ice pass.

Trocheck then scored short-handed with Tarasov pulled for an extra attacker at 16:41 for the 4-0 final.

Rangers defenseman Adam Fox returned after missing eight games due to an upper-body injury. He assisted on Trocheck’s second goal.

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