Young Zac must earn his crack at ice time
Zac Jones, the 20-year-old defenseman fresh off a national championship at UMass, joined the Rangers for the first time at Thursday morning’s skate, but one wouldn’t expect the first Blueshirt to wear No. 6 since Dylan McIlrath to get into the lineup in the blink of an eye.
“It’s hard because you don’t have all these practices to kind of evaluate him, and you want to put him in a position where he’s going to have success,” head coach David Quinn said before the Blueshirts’ 4-0 victory over the Devils. “Obviously, these games are very meaningful for us. We’re in a playoff battle.”
The Blueshirts exited Thursday night’s Garden match still four points behind the Bruins, who defeated the Islanders 4-1 in Boston and have 15 games remaining to the Blueshirts’ 13. The Rangers play their final two games of the season in Boston, but the B’s will still have a pair of rescheduled games remaining against the Islanders and Capitals following that set.
“You’ve got a guy who can really skate, and he’s got a great hockey IQ and just competes. There’s a lot to love about him, and that’s why we like him in our organization,” the coach said. “But this is the National Hockey League, and you don’t just take someone and drop him into the lineup.
“They’ve got to earn it and give you reason to put them in. We’re going to watch him, and if it seems to be the right move and he gives us a chance to win hockey games, he’ll go in. We certainly won’t hesitate putting him in there if we think we can help us win.”
➤ Igor Shesterkin faced only 16 shots, the fewest the Rangers have allowed since surrendering 15 to the Ducks on Dec. 18, 2018, in becoming the first New York netminder to record consecutive shutouts since Antti Raanta went back-to-back against Chicago and Winnipeg, respectively, from Dec. 9-11, 2016. The Blueshirts blocked 20 of New Jersey’s 53 overall attempts, with 17 missing the net. “Indeed there was not much work in this one. The guys did a great job,” said No. 31, who did snuff a pair of excellent chances in close early in the second from Nico Hischier and Jack Hughes. “They blocked a lot of shots, I faced some easier shots, and the fans really helped a lot, so that’s how I kept my concentration. “Two shutouts are great, but I will reinforce the fact that it wouldn’t happen without the guys.” Shesterkin has started 10 of his team’s 12 games since returning on March 25 from the groin strain that sidelined him for three weeks and 10 matches, going 6-2-2 with a .930 save percentage and 2.17 goals against average.
➤ Vitali Kravtsov appeared to have scored his first NHL goal when the winger beat Mackenzie Blackwood from the left circle off a feed from Pavel Buchnevich at 10:12 of the third period. But the goal was taken off the board when New Jersey coach Lindy Ruff’s offside challenge was upheld, Mika Zibanejad having been a tick ahead of the play.
➤ Blueshirts went with the same 18-skater lineup for the fifth straight game, with Julien Gauthier and Phillip Di Giuseppe as the healthy scratches.