The New York Rangers had a near-perfect February, going 10-1 across 11 games played. Igor Shesterkin earned seven starts across this stretch, winning every single contest he was in.
Shesterkin had been in a bit of a slump prior to the All-Star break, as his GAA and SV% numbers were some of the worst seen across his overall dominant career. Fans began to question their faith in the Russian goaltender, but after his elite performances in February, those worries can be put to rest.
Shesterkin had a perfect February, helping the Rangers get their season back on track
If there was one player that could pull the Blueshirts out of their slump, it was Shesterkin. A terrible January quickly turned into a dominant February, and the star goaltender’s perfect play was a major factor in making that happen.
In February, Shesterkin started in seven games and won all seven. He earned a GAA of just 1.72 and an incredible SV% of .953%. He even added an assist to his resume this month, which came from an incredible stretch pass down the ice to Artemi Panarin, who then found Chris Kreider in front of a wide-open net. All of these incredible stats from Shesterkin were deemed worthy of earning him the NHL’s third Star of the Month.
Shesterkin should have earned multiple shutouts this month
Of Shesterkin’s seven starts in February, a handful of them saw the goaltender allow just one goal against- and the worst part is, almost none of them were his fault.
Despite the Rangers’ defensive corps drastically improving their play this month, there were still a few defensive lapses that cost the Blueshirts a goal. None of them were bad enough to cost them a win, but there were certainly a few potential Shesterkin shutouts that never came to be because of them. Perhaps the most obvious instance was during the Rangers’ 3-1 win over Dallas, where Shesterkin had a perfect game that easily should have been his second shutout of the season.
More must-reads: