Igor Shesterkin made 27 saves and three more in the shootout as the host New York Rangers earned a crucial 1-0 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday night.

The simple answer is that the Rangers are winning again and wins fuel confidence. “You have to do the right things in order to get a win and at the end of the day it’s the winning that helps build the confidence,” Peter Laviolette said. I do think it’s starting to build because we are putting wins in the column.”

The Rangers followed up a successful road trip winning 1-0 in a shootout over the Blue Jackets. Vincent Trocheck tallied the lone goal in the shootout, Adam Fox had another solid game defensively and head coach Peter Laviolette was pleased with the team's strong second and third periods.

In the Rangers' 5-4 overtime loss to Dallas on Tuesday, he scored two goals, both on tips of shots from the blue line.

The New York Rangers visit the Montreal Canadiens after the Rangers took down the Columbus Blue Jackets 1-0 in a shootout.

NEW YORK -- Igor Shesterkin made 27 saves and stopped all three shooters in the shootout to lift the New York Rangers to a 1-0 win against the Columbus Blue Jackets at Madison Square Garden on Saturday. "We played awesome," Shesterkin said about the Rangers defensive effort.

When Drury tried to trade former captain Jacob Trouba in the offseason and the latter refused waive his contract's no-trade clause, there was an effect on the locker room and it could have been the genesis of why the Rangers — the same team that came six wins away from a Stanley Cup within the last 12 months — began to break down.

The Columbus Blue Jackets and New York Rangers played 65 minutes and couldn't score a goal, so it went to a shootout. Vincent Trocheck would score the only goal for either team, sending the Jackets home with a 1-0 shootout loss.

New York needed a perfect performance from goaltender Igor Shesterkin to defeat the Blue Jackets, but the Rangers were the dominant squad after being outplayed in the first period. A team that appeared to be in disarray a few weeks ago showed the poise and execution expected of the Rangers.

Tarasov became the first goaltender in NHL history to record his first career shutout and suffer a loss in the same game.

Alex Bump scored two goals for No. 4 Western Michigan in a 5-1 win over North Dakota on Saturday night in Grand Forks, N.D.