SUNRISE, Fla. — As the Rangers faced their first-ever loss Saturday night, there were some positive signs.
Igor Shesterkin was the best goaltender in the playoffs, not just visually but statistically.
According to Evolving Hockey, Shesterkin’s 14.4 goals-against average is above expectation, tops all postseason goalies, and his .924 save percentage remains the best among active goalies.
The bad news: The Panthers beat Jeremy Swayman’s Bruins and have already knocked out the only player with a better save percentage than Shesterkin in these playoffs.
No one is better equipped to steal a win in a season-ending Game 6 than Shesterkin.
But equally, the Rangers know better than most franchises that having the best goaltender doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll win championships.
“We have good goaltending. We have great goaltending,” Adam Fox said after Game 5. “We just want a little more goal support, especially tonight.”
Shesterkin will win the Vezina Trophy in 2022, and after a shaky first round, he helped lead the Rangers to where they are now: Game 6 of the conference finals on the road against a Florida team. He led his team to victory throughout that game, making save after save against a tired team, but it just wasn’t enough against Tampa Bay.
Before him, Henrik Lundqvist led the Rangers to victory game after game, season after season and playoff after play.
But the Rangers have only made it to the Cup final once with goaltender No. 30, losing that game to Jonathan Quick, now Shesterkin’s backup.
History, particularly the recent history of the Rangers, shows that a good goaltender is an important piece of the puzzle, but it’s not the whole story.
Shesterkin can’t score the puck.
He can’t fix a struggling power play, nor can he get the Rangers to thrive in the third period.
What he can do is exactly what he has done.
In a series where Chris Kreider and Mika Zibanded didn’t score their first points until Thursday night, Artemi Panarin is still waiting for a goal and Fox isn’t playing well, but Shesterkin is fulfilling his role as a superstar and then some.
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According to Natural Stat Trick, Shesterkin faced 77 high-danger opportunities to Sergei Bobrovsky’s 51 and saved 92.21% of them compared to Bobrovsky’s 86.27%.
He has faced more shots in all but one game, by 14, 17 and 10 in his final three games.
He handled the pressure admirably, helping the Rangers to an overtime win in Game 3 and narrow victories in Games 4 and 5.
But in most cases, if the goalkeeper had to be the best player, it would be hard to win the match.
The Rangers know they need to work harder in front of Shesterkin.
“It’s about winning games. It’s about winning one game. We’re going to do our best and take advantage of the opportunity,” Kreider said.
But the sense of security that the goalkeeper represents is not going anywhere.
And even if that alone won’t give the Rangers a win, it’s reason enough to believe they have a chance.
