Igor Shesterkin Returning to Vezina Trophy Form for Rangers

Early this season Shesterkin let in a few soft goals but he also came up with clutch saves in some close games. He won four consecutive starts from Oct. 24 to Nov. 2 including back-to-back overtime wins on the road against the Vancouver Canucks on Oct. 28 and the Winnipeg Jets on Oct. 30. He stopped 26 of 27 shots in a 2-1 win over the Carolina Hurricanes on Nov. 2 but suffered a lower-body injury and ended up missing the next two weeks.

Shesterkin returned to the lineup on Nov. 18 and stopped 30 of 33 shots in a 5-3 victory against the Devils. He was very inconsistent for the next few weeks, still having some good games but also some ugly ones. He gave up some goals on shots from bad angles and overcommitted on shots which left him out of position. The stellar play of backup goalie Jonathan Quick, who began the season 9-0-1 helped take some pressure off Shesterkin.

After losing three consecutive starts and allowing 15 goals in those games, Shesterkin has bounced back by winning five in a row and shutting down some of the NHL’s best teams. Two of the wins came in overtime as he stopped 21 of 22 shots in a 2-1 overtime victory against the Boston Bruins on Dec. 16. He stopped a breakaway and then made two great saves on shots from the slot in overtime in a 4-3 win over the Buffalo Sabres. He also beat the Toronto Maple Leafs, Washington Capitals, and Tampa Bay Lightning during this five-game winning streak. He has only allowed eight goals in the five games. He is now 15-7-0 with a .911 SV% and a 2.69 GAA.

The Rangers Rely Heavily on Goaltending

While the Rangers lead the NHL in points, they are not a great team at even strength and they rely heavily on special teams and goaltending. They lead the NHL with a 30.9 power-play percentage and have 34 power-play goals in 35 games. They also have the fifth-best penalty kill in the NHL at 84.9 percent.

The Rangers have some very good penalty killers and they block a lot of shots. Jacob Trouba leads the NHL with 113 blocked shots and Nick Bonino leads all forwards with 62 blocked shots. However, a big part of their shorthanded success has been their goaltending.

Another key to the Rangers’ success this season is they have won the majority of their close games. They have played in 14 one-goal games and won 11 of them including all four of their games decided in overtime. They split their two games decided in shootouts. Both of their goalies have excelled late in close games and they will need them to continue to do so to stay in front in a very tough division.

For Shesterkin and the Rangers Going Forward

After his tough stretch, Shesterkin is once again playing like a superstar. To reach their full potential this season, the Rangers need their star goaltender at his best, and he has played five consecutive excellent games. Though the team has not played great defense in front of him for the last couple of weeks, he has bailed them out. He is making clutch saves late in games, stopping breakaways, and stopping shots from the slot.