It would be understandable if games like Sunday’s from Igor Shesterkin started to blend in for the Rangers, even if head coach Mike Sullivan insisted that’s not the case — if, over the past six-plus seasons as he emerged as one of the best goaltenders in the league, periods like the first frame against the Panthers became expected.
When Florida kept stringing together chance after chance in the opening 20 minutes, Shesterkin single-handedly helped the Rangers avoid a deficit. He stopped all 15 chances. He ensured that by the time the offense started producing in the third period of their eventual 3-1 win, it was enough to win a second consecutive game entering their match against the Devils at the Garden on Tuesday. And, most of all, he resembled his vintage form in a campaign when that hasn’t been the case for many other Rangers.
Shesterkin has allowed one goal or fewer in 90 career games, with his latest allowing him to surpass John Vanbiesbrouck and move into ninth place in Rangers history, according to the team. He’s also eighth in goals saved above expected this season in the NHL (31.27), according to Evolving Hockey. The $92 million star, under contract for seven more seasons, has only continued to issue reminders of why he’s an unquestioned constant, even in a year when he hit rough patches and spent time on injured reserve with a lower-body injury.
“We don’t ever take it for granted,” Sullivan said of Shesterkin postgame Sunday. “I think I’ve said it on a number of different occasions that he’s arguably the best goalie in the game. He makes it look ordinary with some of the saves that he makes, but they’re difficult. He makes a lot of difficult saves.
“I don’t think anybody inside of our dressing room or inside our organization takes Shesty for granted. He’s elite at what he does. He’s a superstar goaltender in this league, and he gives us a chance to win each and every night with the timely saves that he makes.”
Because of his contract, and because of the standard he set during his early seasons as a starter with a Vezina Trophy nod in 2021-22 and a pair of All-Star Game appearances the next two seasons, the expectations are higher for Shesterkin than most other Rangers. He’s tasked with making sure the goaltending legacy on Broadway — from Mike Richter to Henrik Lundqvist and everyone else in between — lives on. That, in past campaigns, has made his struggles amplified.
But Shesterkin will carry a .912 save percentage into Tuesday’s game, up from .905 last year and even with his number from their Presidents’ Trophy-winning season in 2023-24. He has recorded only one shutout this year — and his bid for a second Sunday was spoiled with less than a minute remaining — but if Shesterkin can keep his goals against average at its current 2.55 or lower the rest of the season, it’d mark his lowest since 2022-23.
In the first period Sunday, he stopped A.J. Greer on the rush. Then, he slid across the crease to cut off Eetu Luostarinen, who was all alone behind Rangers’ defense on the power play, and made a save. Shesterkin also stopped Vinnie Hinostroza — who’d weaved through a cluster of players — while the Blueshirts killed that same penalty.
“Every game, he gives us a chance to win, like I said earlier, when we don’t have our ‘A’ games,” defenseman Adam Fox said Sunday. “He’s amazing and does that for us every night.”
Once the offseason arrives, the Rangers will have a goaltending question to answer when it comes to No. 2 on the depth chart. Jonathan Quick, the winningest American-born goaltender in NHL history, is 40 years old, on an expiring contract and dealing with a season of struggles. Dylan Garand, in just two starts, has already flashed the potential that made him the Blueshirts’ top goaltending prospect.
But while nothing is guaranteed in a retool, Shesterkin has provided a counter to that notion. He has remained one for the Rangers.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
