Igor Shesterkin continues to be the story for the Rangers. In another lopsided game that saw the ice tilted over the final 40 minutes, Shesterkin made 40 saves to carry the Rangers past the Senators 2-1 at Madison Square Garden on Friday night.

That included him stopping 32 of 33 shots over the last two periods. The Senators outshot the Rangers 33-9 for an overall total of 41-18 for the game. They severely outplayed and out-chanced the Rangers. But they had a hard time beating Shesterkin, who was like a brick wall in the net.

Among the highlights were a glove save to rob Claude Giroux from 10 feet out on a delayed penalty. Giroux thought he had a sure goal. But Shesterkin reached up with his glove from his knees to snatch the puck. It took that kind of focus to bail out his teammates.

There would be other highlight reel saves, including a sequence when he denied Josh Norris twice at point blank range to prevent Ottawa from cutting a 2-0 lead to one halfway through the third period. At that point, it looked like Shesterkin would shut them out.

But eventually, Brady Tkachuk set up Adam Gaudette to make it 2-1 with 7:32 left in regulation. After Braden Schneider broke up a pass, the puck came right back to Tkachuk. He then found Gaudette open in the slot for a shot that beat Shesterkin to break up the shutout.

There was a mixup in coverage between Schneider and Victor Mancini. That allowed Gaudette to get his fifth from Tkachuk and Thomas Chabot. The third pair was pinned in often during the game. Mancini has the size and strength Laviolette prefers over Zac Jones. But he’s still a work in progress in his end. Jones and Schneider work more fluidly due to familiarity. Jones was a healthy scratch for the second consecutive game.

Fortunately, that’s as close as the Senators got. Shestekin turned aside the last eight shots to earn his fifth win of the season. In eight starts, he’s 5-2-0 with a 2.25 goals-against-average (GAA) and .931 save percentage. The only two losses were to the Panthers and Capitals. Both could’ve been more lopsided without Shesterkin. He’s been the last line of defense with the Rangers struggling to establish themselves at five-on-five.

Defensively, they continue to have issues. Last night, it was the Senators’ team speed and forecheck that caused problems. They came in waves at the Rangers, who frequently were chasing the play. It didn’t help matters that they took five penalties. Adam Fox was guilty of two. It hasn’t been the best start for Fox. He hasn’t looked like himself. In an interesting development, he logged only 18:53 of ice time. That included 15:35 at even strength. Partner K’Andre Miller received 18:11 and 22:29 overall. That included 3:31 shorthanded. He helped the Blueshirts kill off five Ottawa power plays.

If there was a positive, it was the strong play of Ryan Lindgren and Jacob Trouba. The new second pair did a good job limiting the Tkachuk line. They took away time and space from one of the premiere power forwards. There were plenty of physical battles during shifts. Tkachuk is a loud player, who plays the game with an edge. He searched for a couple of rebounds on Shesterkin during scrums which drew the ire of the Rangers.

The game didn’t start out badly for the Rangers. In fact, it was the big line that struck early to give them the lead. On an aggressive forecheck from Alexis Lafreniere, he forced Norris into a turnover. His takeaway allowed Artemi Panarin to rip a shot past Linus Ullmark at 3:03. Panarin leads them with seven goals. He has recorded at least a point in nine of ten games.

Adam Edstrom came close to doubling the lead. He got behind the Senators’ defense for a great chance but was turned away by Ullmark. For a fourth line player who doesn’t get many shifts, he makes things happen. Edstrom is a good skater for his size. When Jimmy Vesey is activated off long-term injured reserve (LTIR) for Sunday’s game against the Islanders, Edstrom deserves to stay in the lineup. If he doesn’t, it would be another letdown.

With Sam Carrick in the box for tripping, the Rangers’ penalty kill limited the Senators power play to two shots. Led by Lindgren and Trouba, they were superb. As usual, the forwards did their part, with Mika Zibanejad turning in some stellar defensive work. As far as his five-on-five play is concerned, it remains an issue. His line with Chris Kreider and Reilly Smith was better on Friday night. But they were unable to produce.

After playing the Senators on even terms, the Rangers were on their heels in the second period. A Kreider penalty negated a power play. During the four-on-four, Tim Stutzle was stopped by Shesterkin. Following an abbreviated power play, they applied the pressure at even strength. Mike Amadio hit the crossbar. It was the second crossbar the Sens hit. Tkachuk also rang one off the bar.

With Fox off for hooking, the Rangers killed off a dangerous Ottawa power play. Stutzle was set up in the slot but sent his one-timer wide. Gaudette later hit the goalpost. When they weren’t hitting the net, they either had wide open chances miss the mark or shots get blocked. As a team, the Rangers blocked 23 shots. Four different defensemen each had four blocks, including Lindgren, Miller, Braden Schneider, and Trouba. It took that kind of commitment to help out Shesterkin.

On a delayed call, it looked like Giroux was all set up for the tying goal. Instead, a lunging Shesterkin made a great glove save to loud chants of “Ig-or, Ig-or!” from the crowd. With Lindgren off for holding, the penalty kill stepped up by blanketing the Senators. Despite outshooting the Rangers 13-4, they still trailed by one following the period.

At the start of the third, Smith’s hustle drew a penalty on Norris. Despite some good pressure, the Rangers’ top unit was unable to take advantage. If there was a moment that summed up his slow start, Zibanejad flubbed on a good scoring chance. He missed completely. That’s how it’s gone for him. Even though he was more noticeable during his shifts, he only had two shots in 18:19. Later on, he thought he had Kreider for a goal. But Senators defenseman Tyler Kleven made a great defensive play, with a textbook stick check to deny Kreider.

There wasn’t much power play time left when coach Peter Laviolette stuck his second unit out for a shift. They made the most of it. After Smith moved the puck over to Filip Chytil, he sent a pass in front that a nifty Lafreniere tipped in over the goal line for a power-play goal with over 17 minutes remaining in the third. He’s up to five goals. Lafreniere was very good in this game. He made defensive plays and was in on both Rangers’ goals. With a goal and assist, Lafreniere has 10 points in 10 games. A good start for an evolving player who the Rangers invested in long-term.

The rest of the period was like an Ottawa power play. They spent so much time in the Rangers’ zone that it looked like they lived there. Shesterkin made saves on Stutzle and Nick Jensen on a strong Senators shift. After a Vincent Trocheck faceoff in the defensive zone, Fox took his second penalty when he took down Ridly Creig. It led to an impressive sequence from Shesterkin. After stopping Tkachuk in the slot, he robbed Norris twice on rebounds. On the same penalty kill, both Lindgren and Schneider had key shot blocks.

It took the Senators nearly 53 minutes to finally beat Shesterkin. Following a giveaway, Schneider blocked two Chabot shots. But Chabot stuck with it by getting the puck over to Tkachuk. After his first pass came back to him, he sent a second one across for Gaudette to finish off to make it 2-1 with 7:32 remaining.

Ottawa continued to apply pressure. With less than five minutes left, Shesterkin made stops on Jensen and Gaudette. Afterward, they were unable to muster much. The Rangers steadied when it mattered most.

With Ullmark off for an extra attacker, Shesterkin made saves on Stutzle and Jake Sanderson to preserve the win. Despite getting outshot 20-5, the Rangers held on to improve to 7-2-1. They were out-attempted 89-34.

They won the game. But there are more questions following it. Why are they struggling so much to establish a forecheck? What happened to the defensive structure under Laviolette? He again reemphasized that they need to play better during the postgame. How many times does he have to repeat himself? Ultimately, the players must perform better. It isn’t sustainable for long-term success.