The Rangers have probably asked too much from goaltenders Igor Shesterkin and Jonathan Quick over the past six weeks, when the club has been mired in mediocrity.
But at the same time, Shesterkin and Quick aren't doing enough. Granted, they have faced too many Grade A chances over the past six weeks, when the club were 8-9-1 before Sunday's game against the Caps at the Garden, but the club's It's equally true that goaltending hasn't been successful. At grade A level if required.
But Shesterkin was definitely the Shesterkin the Rangers needed in net Sunday, making a key save at a key moment in a tough 2-1 win that looked closer than it needed to be. But after losing three straight in regulation and four in total, nothing was needed more than recording a win of any shape or size.
And the fact that Shesterkin led his team in a game where the Blueshirts scored two goals in the first period was more than just a great. It was a manifestation of the rock that would become the foundation of the club. Frankly, that's the belief in the team's net superiority behind the 2022 Vezina winner.
“I think it was important for Igor to give us a good game and I thought he did that,” head coach Peter Laviolette said after the game in which Shesterkin had 25 shots. Told. “I thought we did a better job of tightening up our defense in front of him.
“We needed to win tonight to put that behind us and start building something.”
Shesterkin was not besieged. The Rangers' goaltenders had not experienced an 8-9-1 winning streak in which their team had a save percentage of .881 and their opponents' save percentage of .908. But Shesterkin allowed too many close goals, scattered too many rebounds on target, and failed to make his signature high-danger saves.
But in this game, Shesterkin slammed the door shut after TJ Oshie scored his second goal at 11:03 to get the Caps within 2-1. Just over two minutes later, Shesterkin denied Oshie with a frontal deflection. With 2:12 left in the period, he made a spectacular left pad save from Max Pacioretty through traffic. He made an acrobatic move in the final seconds of the second period as his team scrambled up front.
In the third, Oshie found the back of the net with 8 minutes, 27 seconds left, and made a final save to stop Evgeny Kuznetsov's drive with 6 seconds left after Washington won a right-wing faceoff.
“Every game is the same responsibility for me,” Shesterkin said. “It's the same focus for me and it shouldn't matter how the team plays in front of me. I have a job to do.”
Shesterkin has an impressive 1-3 record, .828 save percentage and 4.06 GAA in his past four starts. Since Dec. 5, the netminder had posted a 6-6 record, an .883 save percentage and a 3.26 GAA. Overall, he started 10 games and had a save percentage below .880.
This alone is not enough. Shesterkin knows that.
When asked how he felt about his recent play, the goaltender told the Post: “Check my numbers and that will be your answer.”
The Rangers are a compromised team. Kaapo Kakko entered the lineup as he did in this game after missing 21 games with a left foot injury, returning in place of running mates Mika Zibanejad and Chris Kreider in the season opener. We have become a more complete team. But the bottom six still represents a black hole of offensive production.
Blake Wheeler hasn't scored in 11 straight games, and Nick Bonino has missed 22 straight games. Barclay Goodrow hasn't scored in his last 25 games, and Johnny Brodzinski hasn't scored in his last 16 games. Will Quill, who had only gotten two shifts before Saturday's final 10, got just three shifts worth 2 hours and 36 minutes in the third period, but had an eight-game scoreless streak, while Jimmy -Vesey has scored one goal in his last 13 games.
General manager Chris Drury will need to address this issue somehow before the March 8 trade deadline. But until Filip Sitil's position is clear, it seems impossible to do so. The cry from the peanut gallery to Drury to do something, do anything, and do it now comes from an alternate reality.
Shesterkin's mediocre play is an alternate reality the Rangers must escape from. They need Shesterkin in that net Sunday.
