Rangers' Igor Shesterkin is weary but ready for more
Rangers goaltender Igor Shesterkin (31) makes a save against Winnipeg Jets' Blake Wheeler (26) during the first period of NHL hockey game action in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Sunday, March 6, 2022. Credit: AP/FRED GREENSLADE
ST. PAUL, Minn. — As much as he likes facing a lot of shots, Igor Shesterkin said he was tired Sunday night after dealing with 46 of them.
But he said he is not about to walk into Rangers coach Gerard Gallant’s office and ask for a day off.
"If I need to play every night, I will do this,’’ said Shesterkin, who led the Blueshirts to a 4-1 win over the Winnipeg Jets. "So you need to ask our coach. My job is, I need to stop the pucks and try to help my teammates.’’
On Monday, Gallant said there’s no reason to think Shesterkin, 26, who has started 11 of the Rangers’ last 12 games, should be given a rest.
"What does he need a day off for?’’ Gallant said playfully after practice at the Xcel Energy Center. "He can take practice off any time he wants, just like any of my players. If they’re tired, they come in, they say, ‘Coach, I’m not going to go on, OK?’
"But no, we manage our goalies,’’ Gallant said. "He hasn’t played a whole lot of games [37 appearances, 36 starts, in the Rangers’ first 56 games]. So it’s not like he’s been busy. He had a couple of weeks off when he got hurt [and] we had a nice break for 14 days [over the All-Star break]. So you know, he’s played, I think, five, six games since then [actually eight].
"He’s not going to play every game, trust me. He’ll be fine,’’ Gallant said. "We’ve got 26 games left. He’s gonna play some of them; Georgie’s [Alexandar Georgiev] gonna play some of them. And we’ll go from there. But we’re not one bit worried about him overplaying.’’
Homecoming for Miller
Defenseman K’Andre Miller, who was born in St. Paul and grew up in nearby Hopkins, Minnesota, will play his first game at the Xcel Energy Center on Tuesday night against the Wild, his hometown team.
"I think the only two times I’ve been on this ice was when I was 9 — I had a birthday party and my mom surprised me [by arranging for me to] go around the Zamboni — and then the other one was ‘Skate with the Wild,’ when I was like 5," Miller said. "I’m very excited. I have a lot of family and friends coming out.’’
Miller said one of his favorite hockey memories growing up was one he wasn’t even present for, when his friends and Minnetonka High School teammates won the state championship at the Xcel Center in Miller’s senior year. He had left the school two years earlier to join the U.S. National Team Development Program in Michigan.
Really was Trouba’s
Jacob Trouba initially was credited with the Rangers’ final goal Sunday, but after the game, the NHL made a scoring change and gave the goal to Mika Zibanejad. But on Monday, the league gave the goal back to Trouba.
Zibanejad said Monday he did not touch the puck before it went into the net.
"No, it’s all good,’’ he said. "It went in the net and we won the game. So that’s all good.’’
Colin Stephenson covers the Rangers for Newsday. He has spent more than two decades covering the NHL and just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.
