Rangers' confidence in Igor Shesterkin never slipped during series vs. Penguins
Igor Shesterkin of the Rangers looks on during the third period against the Penguins during Game 5 of the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday. Credit: Jim McIsaac
The ups-and-downs of Igor Shesterkin were well-chronicled throughout the Rangers-Penguins first-round series.
Except, to the Rangers, there were no ups and there were no downs. There was only the same Hart and Vezina Trophy-finalist goalie who backstopped them all the way to Sunday night’s Game 7 at Madison Square Garden through a 110-point regular season that gave them their first true NHL playoff berth since 2017, and then from the brink of a 3-1 series deficit against the Penguins.
The same netminder who is expected to anchor the Rangers to multiple playoff appearances, not just a cameo this season.
“He’s still the same Igor,” fellow Russian Artemi Panarin said. “It’s playoffs. People shoot the puck and try to tip these pucks, so it’s hard to react sometimes. But he’s in great shape, so we have full confidence in him and he has full confidence in himself.”
Shesterkin got the Rangers to their first Game 7 since 2015 — a 2-0 loss to the Lightning that kept the Rangers from back-to-back trips to the Stanley Cup Final — with a 31-save performance in Friday night’s 5-3 win in Pittsburgh. That was preceded by a 29-save performance in Wednesday’s 5-3 win in Game 5 at the Garden.
Both times, the Rangers rallied from 2-0 deficits. Both times, Shesterkin kept the Penguins from scoring in the third period, stopping a combined 23 shots. He turned aside all eight shots he faced in Friday’s third period, rendering the derisive “I-Gor, I-Gor” chants moot after seemingly being rattled during the first two games in Pittsburgh.
“That’s Igor,” Chris Kreider said. “He’s a competitor. He’s done it all year for us. He’s done it at every level he’s played at. He battles, that’s what he does. He’s been our best player all year and he continues to be our best player.”
The Penguins’ home fans targeted Shesterkin for their derision even before he was pulled from starts in Games 3 and 4 in Pittsburgh, allowing a combined 10 goals in his three periods.
Shesterkin may not exactly resemble the goalie who led the NHL with both a 2.07 goals-against average and a .935 save percentage — he entered Game 7 with a 3.82 GAA and .906 save percentage in his playoff starts — but he’s done exactly what Kreider described: battled.
And despite the outside perception, there haven’t been ups and downs because Shesterkin hasn’t allowed himself to ride that roller coaster.
“Nothing changes,” he said after Game 6. “I know we need to go back to New York for Game 7 and just try to focus on the puck at both ends.”
Shesterkin did acknowledge that facing the hostile Pittsburgh crowd was “very difficult.”
“When they say, ‘I-Gor,’ I just say, ‘OK,’ ” said Shesterkin, adding that goalie coach Benoit Allaire instructed him on how to block out the crowd.
When asked to describe Allaire’s specific advice, Shesterkin said, “I cannot tell you.”
It also had to help that coach Gerard Gallant showed faith by immediately naming Shesterkin the Game 5 starter minutes after the 7-2 debacle in Monday’s Game 4 ended and declaring, “He’s the best goalie in the league.”
“It’s good where one coach trusts the goalie and the whole team trusts me,” Shesterkin said. “I just try to find my game and try to help my partners and try to win every game.”
It certainly helped in Games 5 and 6 that the Rangers’ defense tightened and did not allow as many pucks to be deflected near Shesterkin’s net.
But Gallant didn’t necessarily see that turnaround as redemption for Shesterkin.
“None of us were happy with the way things were going with our team,” Gallant said. “It was more of the team than Igor. There were some deflection goals that he didn’t like and we didn’t like. But overall, he’s been outstanding. He’s our MVP, we always talk about it. He’s really sound and really solid. We’re real comfortable with the goaltending, that’s for sure.”
Shesterkin is expected to win the Vezina Trophy as the NHL’s top goalie. Despite being a finalist for the Hart Trophy, given to the league’s MVP, Shesterkin is not expected to be the first goalie since the Canadiens’ Carey Price in 2015 to win both.
Andrew Gross joined Newsday in 2018 to cover the Islanders. He began reporting on the NHL in 2003 and has previously covered the Rangers and Devils. Other assignments have included the Jets, St. John’s and MLB.
