As we approach the three-quarter mark of the season, it’s becoming clear that the New York Rangers are the kings of the Metropolitan Division. With an eight-game winning streak and a 37-16-3 record with 77 points, six ahead of the second-place Carolina Hurricanes, it’s hard to see who else in the division can knock them off.
What’s really stood out is the play of Igor Shesterkin, who for a brief window appeared to lose the starting job to veteran goaltender Jonathan Quick. But with a recent string of great performances, it appears that Shesterkin is back and better than ever.
On Wednesday’s episode of Daily Faceoff LIVE, Frank Seravalli and Tyler Yaremchuk discuss the Russian netminder’s comeback and how important it is for New York to have two dominant goaltenders ahead of this spring’s Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Tyler Yaremchuk: Out in the Eastern Conference, once team that’s been winning a lot is the Rangers. Eight wins in a row, the epic comeback victory in the Stadium Series, and of those eight, four of them have come with Igor Shesterkin in the crease. When you look at the game logs, you see a handful of starts with .900 or better save percentages. On Tuesday, he stopped 41 of 42 shots against the Dallas Stars. It feels like Shesterkin is back for the Rangers.
Frank Seravalli: He is back. In what’s been a weird season for him, you look at his numbers and when he has a .900 SV% or better, the Rangers haven’t lost. But he’s had a number of games where he’s been under .800. A couple weeks ago, we talked about a “goalie controversy” in New York, saying that this is how Peter Laviolette handles his goalies.
But no: Shesterkin was always going to be the guy, and the extra time he’s spent with Rangers’ goaltending coach Benoit Allaire has paid dividends. He’s not the first goalie to take some time away to prepare and take a reset. The numbers speak for themselves: he’s 4-0-0 with a .937 SV%, it appears that he’s back at that level that he was at previously.
You can watch the full segment and the rest of the episode here…
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