The overarching theme of the Rangers’ game against the Avalanche on Tuesday night was always going to be goaltending. In a 3-2 shootout loss to Colorado, however, a rare gaffe from the Blueshirts’ star goaltender, Igor Shesterkin, nearly stole the show.
Shesterkin skated out to aggressively play the puck with his team shorthanded, as he has many times before, but the netminder mishandled it while absorbing a hard forecheck from Colorado forward Andrew Cogliano. Before Shesterkin could get set, Cogliano fed Logan O’Connor, who scored to put the Avalanche up 2-1 just 59 seconds into the third period.
Pausing in what appeared to be disbelief, Shesterkin just looked down at the ice. The Rangers were able to even the score and force overtime behind Adam Fox’s third-period goal before Colorado forward Evan Rodrigues won it for his team in the shootout.
“One goalie saved a shot; the other one missed a shot,” Shesterkin said through an interpreter after the loss. “That’s the difference.”
Shesterkin has been lauded by his teammates for his special skill in handling the puck, but considering how much he does it and the risk it always entails, such a play was bound to happen at some point.
In the shootout, after forward Nathan MacKinnon missed on Colorado’s first shootout attempt, Shesterkin made the save on defenseman Cale Makar. Mikko Rantanen and Rodrigues then each scored to give the Avalanche the winning margin.
Shesterkin finished with 42 saves on 44 shots, including five saves against Colorado’s lethal power play.
“He made one mistake in two years,” Rangers coach Gerard Gallant said with a smile. “I didn’t even see what happened to be honest. I just seen he had the puck in the corner, I have no idea. It happens, we get by it and get over it.”
There was a bizarre moment at the end of the first period, when Alexis Lafreniere was called for high-sticking Makar in the face. Replays showed it was clearly the stick of Colorado defenseman Devon Toews that hit Makar, but since only double-minor calls can be reviewed, the inaccurate infraction stood.
The Rangers were able to kill off the head-scratching penalty.
“He’s got no choice, he’s got to make the call,” Gallant said. “It’s disappointing and frustrating, but he made the right call.”
Defenseman Libor Hajek played in just his second game of the season, replacing Zac Jones on the bottom pair alongside Braden Schneider. Jones, who had a tough game during a loss to the Blue Jackets on Sunday, was a healthy scratch.
