Igor Shesterkin is Rangers' No. 1 goalie, David Quinn says
A Jets shot is stopped by Rangers goaltender Igor Shesterkin as Winnipeg's Mark Scheifele looks for the rebound during the third period in Winnipeg, Manitoba, on Tuesday. Credit: AP/Fred Greenslade
ST. PAUL, Minn. — Igor Shesterkin is the Rangers’ No. 1 goalie right now, coach David Quinn declared Thursday.
But a tender left ankle, the result of a collision with Winnipeg forward Andrew Copp in Tuesday’s game, kept him out of the lineup for Thursday’s game against the Minnesota Wild. Instead, Alexandar Georgiev, the other 24-year-old Russian goaltender on the roster, got the start.
The Rangers have been carrying three goaltenders since they called up Shesterkin from AHL Hartford on Jan. 6. In his first seven NHL starts, Shesterkin is 6-1, with a 2.18 goals-against average and a .941 save percentage. After Sunday’s 4-1 win over the Los Angeles Kings, in which Shesterkin made 42 saves, Quinn said he was done trying to find ways of rotating the goalies to keep all three sharp. From that point on, he said, the best goaltender would play.
On Thursday, he explained his thinking.
“I think when you get three goalies in the situation we were in, you're a little bit sensitive to everybody,’’ Quinn said. “You want to give everybody an opportunity and see how this thing unfolds. I thought everybody had an ample opportunity and everybody had a chance to state their case. And I just felt that Igor had made the most impact and I was in a position to kind of ride him for a little while."
Shesterkin made his second straight start Tuesday in Winnipeg — his first appearance in a road game — and again made 42 saves in another 4-1 win.
Quinn danced around the question Monday when he was asked if Shesterkin was the No. 1 goaltender. On Thursday, when asked the question again, he answered it definitively.
“Yes,’’ he said. “Right now, that's the situation we're in because of his play, for sure.’’
Quinn said Shesterkin would have started Thursday except for the ankle injury. He was knocked down by Copp, who’d been pushed into the goaltender by Rangers defenseman Tony DeAngelo. Shesterkin stayed down for a little while but stayed in the game. After about five minutes of action, an NHL concussion spotter called down and ordered Shesterkin to leave the game, with 6:04 remaining in the first period, to undergo concussion testing.
Henrik Lundqvist replaced him for the rest of the first period, but Shesterkin came back to start the second period and finished the game.
Quinn said Shesterkin’s status is “day-to-day.’’ He is a possibility to play Friday when the Rangers complete their three-game road trip with the second game of a back-to-back against the Columbus Blue Jackets.
If Shesterkin is unable to play, Quinn will choose between Georgiev and Lundqvist, who now are competing to be the No. 2 goaltender. Before Thursday’s game, the two had the same goals-against average this season (3.12) and nearly identical save percentages (Georgiev’s is .908, Lundqvist’s is .907). Georgiev had appeared in 25 games (23 starts) with a 12-11-1 record; Lundqvist had appeared in 28 (25 starts) with a 10-11-3 record.
Georgiev, who turned 24 on Monday, has served as the backup to Lundqvist since the beginning of last season, so he has experience handling the infrequent starts that backup goaltenders typically have to deal with. Lundqvist has been the No. 1 goaltender for most of his 15 seasons with the Rangers, and he’s used to playing most of the games and being able to get into a playing rhythm. How he would handle going long stretches of time between starts is unknown.
Georgiev got the assignment Thursday. “Well, he's been a really good goalie for us for a while now,’’ Quinn said. “We've got confidence in all three of our goalies.’’
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.
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