RALEIGH, N.C. — No matter who it is against or where the game is played, the Rangers can be content knowing they hold an advantage over just about every other NHL team.
That advantage would be Igor Shesterkin.
“I know what I’ve got and I’ve relied on him all year long,” Rangers coach Gerard Gallant said ahead of Monday’s do-or-die match with the Hurricanes.
Never would that be more relevant than in a Game 7.
Against a Carolina team missing Frederik Andersen, its top goaltender, the Rangers’ advantage in nets was even more accentuated throughout the series. Antti Raanta headed into Game 7 at a nadir after giving up three goals on 13 shots before Rod Brind’Amour pulled the plug and put in Pyotr Kochetkov in the Rangers’ 5-2 Game 6 win.
Though Shesterkin had his own spell of poor play back in the first round, the Rangers have experienced no such issues from the soon-to-be Vezina Trophy winner since then. Since getting pulled from two straight games in Pittsburgh, Shesterkin’s save percentage sat at .937 going into Game 7 against Carolina, on par with his league-leading regular-season mark. In the first six games against the Hurricanes, it was a cool .949.
Igor Shesterkin makes a save during the Rangers’ Game 6 win over the Hurricanes. Jason Szenes So yes, the Rangers had total confidence in their netminder. Not that there was really any question about whether that would be the case.
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tRY IT NOW“I think he’s been great,” Ryan Strome said. “He’s been our best player all year. Any little hiccups, ups and downs, doesn’t really last too long with him. And we know what he’s capable of and he knows how good he is.”
A day earlier, Andrew Copp fielded a question that compared Shesterkin to Connor Hellebuyck, the 2019-20 Vezina winner, who Copp played with in Winnipeg before being traded to the Rangers.
“I don’t want to take anything away from Helly, who’s been fantastic,” he said, “but Shesty’s been unbelievable since I got here. And I think they both have that mentality that they should make every single save. And they’re almost delusional with it.”
Monday was the first road Game 7 for the Rangers since 2014, when they beat the Penguins 2-1 in the second round.
The last team to win multiple series after facing a multigame deficit in each — the feat the Rangers looked to pull off Monday night — was the 2011 Bruins, who beat the Canadiens and Canucks after going down 2-0 in both series.
