Two nights, two 4-0 wins, and a little deja vu, if you will. Igor Shesterkin, not to be outdone by Jonathan Quick, posted his own 4-0 shutout last night over the Islanders. In a story of Will’s, Will Cuylle scored a goal off his head, and Will Borgen scored a shorthanded goal, giving Shesterkin a nice cushion to work with. The Rangers are riding the wave and seeing what happens the remainder of the year. If this is what the Rangers can now do, the we need to see how they stack up against a power house. We’ll get our answer soon enough when the Washington Capitals come into town.

As mentioned above, Will Cuylle has become a critical piece for the Rangers. Should they make the playoffs this season, it will be fun to see him, JT Miller, and potentially Brennan Othmann, Brett Berard, and Matt Rempe go full bash brothers. We can’t get too ahead of ourselves, as the Rangers still need to go roughly 15-6 to close out the season just to be in the playoff picture. But with the team rolling and Igor in net, anything is possible.

One of the themes over the last week or so has been the Rangers defensive improvements. Shesterkin had an uncharacteristically easy night, only facing 20 shots. It seems he is past his injury concerns, and along with Quick, is answering the call and keeping the Rangers in the playoff race. If the Rangers are going to make the playoffs, both Quick and Shesterkin are going to have to stand tall. Funny enough, this may answer the question about whether Quick will be part of the Rangers trade deadline plans.

As good as the Rangers look right now, albeit against two bad teams, they will only get better once Adam Fox returns. Despite drawing a vocal minority’s ire, Fox is a key factor on this Rangers defense and one of the best defensemen in the NHL. Perhaps this injury is a blessing in disguise, as a healthy Fox is critical to any playoff success. But in his absence, Zac Jones has done a great job filling in at 5v5 and on the powerplay. Jones has shown his worth so far, and while it’s likely he sits once Fox is back, he probably shouldn’t.

After such a disastrous season, the Rangers really are going to bring us back in, aren’t they?

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