Rangers' Igor Shesterkin has turned up his game a notch
Igor Shesterkin of the Rangers makes a save during the second period against the Blue Jackets at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday. Credit: Jim McIsaac
GREENBURGH, N.Y. — Igor Shesterkin is scheduled to be in the net Thursday, coach Gerard Gallant said, when the Rangers visit the Devils in a crucial game at Prudential Center that will go a long way toward deciding who finishes where in the Metropolitan Division, and who would have home-ice advantage in a potential first-round playoff series between the teams.
For Shesterkin, the start will be significant. It would be his 54th of the season, which would be a career high. He appeared in 53 games last season.
That factoid was of no concern to Gallant, though.
“He's not close to being tired,’’ Gallant said of Shesterkin. “Fifty-four games for, what is he, a 26-year-old? It's not like he's playing 65, 70 games. If he plays under 60 games — which he's going to — I mean, that's a perfect number for us.’’
Including Thursday, the Rangers have eight games remaining in the regular season, with two sets of back-to-backs: Thursday-Friday and April 5-6. Assuming backup Jaroslav Halak starts one game in each of the back-to-back sets, that would mean a maximum of five starts remaining for Shesterkin after Thursday, which would give him a total of 59.
He has made it through the season healthy — to this point, knock on wood — for the first time in his NHL career. He missed time with groin injuries in each of the past two seasons, and there was the car accident that resulted in a broken rib that cost him games in 2020. He also missed the first two games of the bubble postseason series the Rangers played that summer in Toronto with a groin strain.
Shesterkin is 34-12-7 with a 2.54 goals-against average, .914 save percentage and two shutouts. And after a sluggish return from the All-Star Game, he has turned his game up over the past month. In his last 11 starts, beginning with the 5-2 win over the Kings on Feb. 26, he is 9-2 with a 2.07 GAA, .931 save percentage and one shutout.
“He had a tough three weeks coming from the All-Star break, and, you know, everybody goes through those little things and it was a little hiccup,’’ Gallant said. “He wasn't bad. He just wasn't Igor. And I think you've seen the last month he's been pretty outstanding.’’
Shesterkin, like most of his teammates, was looking forward to facing the Devils Thursday.
“They’re a very good team, very fast,’’ he said. “They have a couple of great players, so it's going to be fun.’’
Shesterkin hopes it will be fun for him. He’s 1-1-1 in three games against the Devils this season with a 3.61 GAA and an .899 save percentage. There was that game at the Garden Nov. 28 when, after the Rangers blew a two-goal lead and lost, 5-3, Shesterkin told reporters he was “ashamed’’ of how he was playing. He’s 24-8-4 since that game, though, including a 4-3 OT win over the Devils in Newark Nov. 12.
No change for Lindgren. Gallant said the status of defenseman Ryan Lindgren, who has missed 14 of the last 15 games with a shoulder injury, is “the same. Just day-to-day, and doing real well,’’ he said. “We’re just being cautious.’’ Asked if he wants to get Lindgren into a game before the playoffs start, Gallant said, “To me, it’s not important,’’ adding “nobody wants to force anything.’’
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.
