Shesterkin makes 40 saves, Rangers hold off Senators

Shesterkin makes 40 saves, Rangers hold off Senators

Lafreniere gets 2 points, Panarin scores; Gaudette has goal for Ottawa

Senators at Rangers | Recap

NEW YORK — Igor Shesterkin made 40 saves, Alexis Lafreniere had a goal and an assist, and the New York Rangers held on for a 2-1 win against the Ottawa Senators at Madison Square Garden on Friday.

It was the second straight game featuring at least 40 saves from Shesterkin, who had 41 in a 5-3 loss at the Washington Capitals on Tuesday.

Artemi Panarin scored his seventh goal of the season for the Rangers (7-2-1), who had lost two of their past three.

Adam Gaudette scored, and Linus Ullmark made 16 saves for the Senators (5-5-0), who lost for the third time in four games.

Panarin gave New York a 1-0 lead at 3:03 of the first period.

Lafreniere forced Josh Norris into a turnover in Ottawa’s defensive zone. Panarin got the puck and used Travis Hamonic as a screen so his wrist shot from inside the left face-off circle could get past Ullmark on the short side.

Shesterkin preserved the lead with a blocker save on Norris at 7:56 of the first, when he came out beyond the left post. He also stopped Claude Giroux with his glove on a point-blank shot from the bottom of the left circle at 17:10 of the second period.

Lafreniere gave the Rangers a 2-0 lead at 2:56 of the third period, scoring a power-play goal off his foot. Reilly Smith played the puck off the wall with a pass through his legs to Filip Chytil in the right circle. Chytil then found Lafreniere in the slot after he came around the far post.

It was Lafreniere’s second multipoint game this season. He also had a goal and an assist in a 6-0 opening-night win at the Pittsburgh Penguins on Oct. 9.

Gaudette cut it to 2-1 at 12:28. Gaudette scored with a one-timer from the lower portion of the left circle off a hard pass from Brady Tkachuk out of the far corner and through the slot.

Ottawa was 0-for-5 on the power play. It’s the third time in 10 games they’ve been held without at least one power-play goal. The Senators were second in the NHL on the power play (42.9 percent) entering the night.