IGOR SHESTERKIN

Toronto’s Auston Matthews won the Hart Trophy as the NHL’s most valuable player, beating out Edmonton’s Connor McDavid and Igor Shesterkin of the New York Rangers to win the award for the first time.

Steven Stamkos scored two goals and the two-time defending champion Tampa Bay Lightning are headed to the Stanley Cup Final for the third straight year after beating the New York Rangers 2-1 in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference final.

Ondrej Palat scored on a deflection with 1:50 remaining to break a tie and lead the Tampa Bay Lightning to a 3-1 victory over the New York Rangers on Thursday night for a 3-2 lead in the Eastern Conference final.

Nikita Kucherov scored on a breakaway and Andrei Vasilevskiy had 33 saves , helping the Tampa Bay Lightning shut down the New York Rangers 4-1 and even the NHL’s Eastern Conference final at two games apiece.

Ondrej Palat scored with 42 seconds left and the two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning beat the New York Rangers 3-2 on Sunday to cut their deficit in the Eastern Conference finals to 2-1.

There’s no panic in the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Mika Zibanejad scored in the third period, Igor Shesterkin stopped 29 shots and the New York Rangers beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 3-2 to take a 2-0 series lead in the Eastern Conference finals.

Filip Chytil scored twice in the second period and the New York Rangers routed the two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning 6-2 on Wednesday night in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals.

Andrei Vasilevskiy has won a Vezina Trophy and two Stanley Cups with the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Chris Kreider scored twice and the New York Rangers ended Carolina’s perfect postseason run at home by beating the Hurricanes 6-2 in the decisive Game 7 of their second-round playoff series.

A little more than a mile from the United Nations, where Russia’s war in Ukraine is front and center, the crowd at Madison Square Garden chanted goaltender Igor Shesterkin’s name in the final moments of a playoff victory. The National Hockey League postseason has inadvertently become an intersection of sports and politics, with Russians starring on North American ice against the backdrop of the largest military conflict in Europe since World War II. While their countrymen in sports from soccer to tennis have been banned from competitions, Russians in the NHL have played on while keeping a low profile away from the rink.

Igor Shesterkin stopped 37 shots and became the fifth goalie to have two assists in a playoff game, Filip Chytil scored twice in the second period and the New York Rangers beat the Carolina Hurricanes 5-2 to force a deciding Game 7 in their second-round series.

Vincent Trocheck buried a short-handed goal, Teuvo Teravainen had a rare power-play score for Carolina and the Hurricanes beat the New York Rangers 3-1 on Thursday night to take a 3-2 lead in the second-round playoff series.

Andrew Copp had a goal and two assists, and Frank Vatrano and Adam Fox each had a goal and an assist as the New York Rangers beat the Carolina Hurricanes 4-1 in Game 4 to even their second-round series.

Mika Zibanejad had a goal and an assist, Igor Shesterkin stopped 43 shots, and the New York Rangers beat the Carolina Hurricanes 3-1 in Game 3 of their second-round playoff series.

Brendan Smith scored a short-handed goal late in the second period while Antti Raanta finished with 21 saves to help the Carolina Hurricanes beat the New York Rangers 2-0, taking a 2-0 lead in their second-round playoff series.

Ian Cole beat Igor Shesterkin at 3:12 of overtime to help the Carolina Hurricanes beat the New York Rangers 2-1 to take Game 1 of their second-round playoff series.

The Pittsburgh Penguins are at a crossroads following a fourth straight quick playoff exit.

Artemi Panarin scored a power-play goal 4:46 into overtime and the New York Rangers beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-3 to advance to the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Chris Kreider’s long slap shot bounced over Louis Domingue and into the net with 1:28 left and the New York Rangers beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 5-3 to push their thrilling first-round series to a deciding Game 7.

The Pittsburgh Penguins may have to try and close out the New York Rangers without captain Sidney Crosby.

Filip Chytil scored the tiebreaking goal early in the third period and the New York Rangers staved off elimination with a 5-3 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins in Game 5 of their first-round playoff series.

Sidney Crosby had a goal and three assists to become the sixth player in NHL history to reach 200 career playoff points and the Pittsburgh Penguins throttled the New York Rangers 7-2 to take a 3-1 lead in their Eastern Conference first-round series.

The pressure is squarely on the Florida Panthers, New York Rangers and Calgary Flames down two games to one in their respective first-round series.

Danton Heinen’s first playoff goal in three years just past the midway point of the third period helped the Pittsburgh Penguins to a 7-4 victory over the New York Rangers.

Artemi Panarin and Frank Vatrano each had a goal and two assists and the New York Rangers beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 5-2 in Game 2 on Thursday night to even the best-of-seven first-round series.

The Pittsburgh Penguins went into the playoffs knowing they’d be without starting goalie Tristan Jarry for at least the first couple of games.

Evgeni Malkin scored on a deflection 5:58 into the third overtime, giving the Pittsburgh Penguins a 4-3 victory over the New York Rangers in Game 1 of their first-round series.

The eight playoff teams in the Eastern Conference have been set since before the All-Star break.

The first-round matchups are set for the NHL playoffs that begin Monday.

Ryan Strome scored twice, Adam Fox added a goal and Igor Shesterkin made 31 saves as the New York Rangers recorded a third-straight shutout and their 50th win of the season, 3-0 over the Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday night. Eric Comrie made 31 saves for the Jets, who were officially eliminated post-season contention with the loss. After a scoreless first period, Strome broke through on the power play against Comrie at 15:57 of the second.

Seth Jarvis and Jordan Staal scored third-period goals and Frederik Andersen made 28 saves as the Carolina Hurricanes beat the New York Rangers 4-2 in a showdown for first place in the Metropolitan Division.

Mika Zibanejad had his eighth career hat trick, Igor Shesterkin stopped 38 shots for his second shutout of the season and the New York Rangers beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 4-0.

Logan O’Connor scored twice in a 22-second span in a five-goal second period, and the Colorado Avalanche beat the Rangers 7-3, ending New York’s seven-game winning streak.

Artemi Panarin scored the first of New York’s three third-period goals with 8:25 left and the Rangers beat the Boston Bruins 5-2 to give Gerard Gallant the best start in his first 20 games as the team's coach.

While the fisticuffs never materialized, the Washington Capitals made a season-opening 5-1 victory against the division-rival New York Rangers memorable for Alex Ovechkin’s 731st and 732nd goals and Hendrix Lapierre’s first.

The New York Rangers locked up their goaltending by agreeing to sign Igor Shesterkin to a four-year $22.6 million contract.

Gerard Gallant expects the New York Rangers to take a big step in his first season as coach.

The New York Rangers say president John Davidson and general manager Jeff Gorton are out.

Pavel Buchnevich celebrated his birthday with his first career hat trick and the New York Rangers beat the New Jersey Devils 6-3 on Saturday for their third win over their Hudson River rivals in five days.

Ovechkin scored two rebound goals in the final seven minutes to give the Washington Capitals their seventh consecutive victory by coming back to beat the New York Rangers 2-1 on Friday night. He has scored in five in a row and has seven goals in the past seven games. “We liked he way we played for the most part," Rangers defenseman Jacob Trouba said. LINDGREN DELIVERSWhile Washington players jawed at Lindgren plenty after his open-ice hit on Ovechkin midway through the second period, Ovechkin himself had no issues with it. “It was a great hit," Ovechkin said.

New York Rangers' Chris Kreider celebrates his goal during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Boston Bruins, Saturday, March 13, 2021, in Boston. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)BOSTON – Chris Kreider scored his team-leading 14th goal, Artemi Panarin had an assist in his first game back since leaving the team, and the New York Rangers beat the Boston Bruins 4-0 Saturday to halt a three-game losing streak. Ryan Strome, Pavel Buchnevich and K’Andre Miller each had a goal for New York, which lost 4-0 in Boston on Thursday. The Rangers called the story about Panarin fabricated and designed to intimidate him for his political views against Russian President Vladimir Putin. He also robbed Kreider’s two close chances on a Rangers power play midway into the second.

New York Rangers left wing Alexis Lafrenire (13) scores a goal past Washington Capitals goaltender Vitek Vanecek (41) during the second period of an NHL hockey game, Saturday, Feb. 20, 2021, in Washington. Also seen are Capitals defenseman John Carlson (74) and Rangers center Mika Zibanejad (93). (AP Photo/Nick Wass)WASHINGTON – Alexis Lafrenière scored his second NHL goal, Artemi Panarin had two assists and the New York Rangers made the best of a new-look lineup, beating the Washington Capitals 4-1 Saturday for their second consecutive victory. Panarin set up Lafrenière on the doorstep late in the second period, and his shot provided the rebound for Chris Kreider's power-play goal in the first. He's the second Rangers player in league protocol, along with injured forward Filip Chytil.

Lundqvist signed with the Capitals when free agency opened Friday, Oct. 9, 2020. (AP Photo/Nick Wass, File)Nets around the NHL will look very different next season after a flurry of musical goaltenders in free agency. "You saw the goalie carousel take place," said San Jose Sharks general manager Doug Wilson, who traded for goalie Devan Dubnyk this week. 1 goalies.”After trading Dubnyk to San Jose, the Minnesota Wild signed former Flames goalie Cam Talbot to an $11 million, three-year deal. After losing series to them in 2009 and 2011, Lundqvist eliminated the Capitals three times: 2012, 2013 and 2015.

FILE - In this Feb. 11, 2017, file photo, New York Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist celebrates his 400th career win, after an NHL hockey game against the Colorado Avalanche, in New York. The New York Rangers have bought out the contract of star goaltender Henrik Lundqvist. The New York Rangers bought out the contract of star goaltender Henrik Lundqvist on Wednesday, parting ways with one of their greatest players in franchise history after 15 mostly spectacular seasons. “We would like to thank Henrik for his immeasurable contributions to the New York Rangers,” Rangers President John Davidson said. His Henrik Lundqvist Foundation strives to create positive change in the lives of children and adults throughout the world through education and health services.

The 20-year-old scored three times for the first postseason hat trick in franchise history and the Hurricanes beat the New York Rangers 4-1 on Monday, securing a 2-0 lead in the Stanley Cup qualifier series. Thats I think why Im scoring goals.Svechnikov's first career hat trick is the first in the franchise's 144-game postseason history, including the Hartford Whalers. He became only the eighth player in NHL history age 20 or younger to tally a postseason hat trick, the last being Nashville's Filip Forsberg in April 2015. With no fans to throw hats onto the ice in Toronto for Svechnikov's hat trick, the Hurricanes tweeted a photo that they had put several in his locker at PNC Arena back in Raleigh, North Carolina. Weve got to reset our minds and get focused on winning one hockey game, Rangers defenseman Marc Staal said.