Courtesy Twitter: @NYRangers

The Rangers beat the Devils in their second-straight shutout against their rivals.

On Thursday, the New York Rangers and New Jersey Devils played in game two of four straight “Hudson River Rivalry” matchups. The Rangers should sweep this series if they want to keep their playoff hopes alive.

They got the job done in the first game when several players had milestone moments, but would have to keep the same energy moving forward.

No changes were made to the lineup including Igor Shesterkin remaining in net after recording his first career shutout.

1st period: 3-0 just in the first this time

The Rangers made it 3-0 in the third period of Tuesday’s game, but they scored three and conceded nothing in just the first period on Thursday.

Jacob Trouba got the Rangers on the board first with the second goal they’ve scored in the first minute this season.

The defensemen continued to light the lamp: Ryan Lindgren got the monkey off his back and scored his first goal in 97 games, the second of his career.

The Rangers scored their third on a breakaway by none other than Artemiy Panarin.

Adam Fox, who had the secondary assist on his linemate Lindgren’s goal, recorded his 35th assist on the season, a career-high.

In addition to his goal, Panarin had the primary assist on Lindgren’s goal. This is his 15th multi-point game of the season and his 10th at Madison Square Garden.

Let’s not forget about Colin Blackwell, who is still incredibly impressive and also had a multi-point period, recording a primary and secondary assist. He’s tied his single-game career-high with this feat.

This was an all-around amazing effort by the Rangers. They came out firing, killed a penalty successfully, and were great up and down the ice (Shesterkin made just three saves).

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2nd period: Another one

The Devils were in almost complete control to begin the second period, dominating in the Rangers’ zone. However, that didn’t last long. The Rangers slid back into the driver’s seat and didn’t let the Devils get back into it.

They even added to their lead with a goal that looked extremely similar to their third. Ryan Strome made a fabulous pass to Panarin for his second of the game.

Rangers fans are having fun.

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3rd period: Back-to-back shutouts!

The Rangers didn’t score in the third or get as many shots off, but did enough to come out with a 4-0 victory.

It looked like Vitaly Kravtsov had scored his first career NHL goal, but it was ruled offside and overturned after a challenge by Devils coach Lindy Ruff.

Shesterkin wasn’t busy, making a grand total of 16 saves, but he’s gotten his first two shutouts in back-to-back games.

These shutouts have embodied how well the Rangers have been playing and are keeping them in the East’s playoff race. Two down, two to go.

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Key Moment: Lindgren makes it 2

The key moment of the game was Lindgren’s goal, and for multiple reasons. Lindgren, who’s been incredible in both zones this season, finally got his first of the year on a great shot.

Fans had been waiting to see him score his first for months and he finally did. He’s been such an important player for the Rangers and deserved this. The goal also continued to build the team’s momentum and they didn’t slow down at all.

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Player of the game: Colin Blackwell

Blackwell gets the honors in this one for setting a career-high in assists. He had three helpers on the night and was incredibly impactful on the team’s best line of the game.

He was on the ice for all four of the Rangers’ goals. Blackwell keeps beating the odds and proving to everyone that he not only deserves to start regularly, but is a vital part of this team.

His numbers: 13:00 TOI, 3 A, 52.38 CF%, 0.16 iXG, 2 blocks, 0.55 xGF, 0.24 xGA, 3.91 GF, 0 GA, 4.77 Game Score, 0.56 defensive rating, 2.21 offensive rating, and 1.99 individual rating.

Stats are courtesy of Hockey Stat Cards and Natural Stat Trick.

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Leen has written about the MLB, NBA, NFL, NHL, and international soccer. She is currently the primary NHL writer for ESNY. Leen's work has been featured on Bleacher Report and she was formerly a contributor for FanSided's New York Mets blog, Rising Apple. She is a co-host of the Yankees-Mets Express podcast.