New York Rangers players celebrate after scoring against the Washington Capitals during the first period in Game 4 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series, Sunday April 28, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Tom Brenner)
WASHINGTON (AP) — 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 an 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…
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