PITTSBURGH — The past few days have been all about Igor Shesterkin and the Rangers' numbers, but on Wednesday night, the only number that mattered was zero.
Shesterkin and the Rangers defeated the Penguins 6-0 in the season opener Wednesday night at PPG Paints Arena, and the Russian star netminder made 29 saves in the first game of his official contract season.
As expected, Shesterkin wasn't interested in commenting on the eight-year, $88 million deal he turned down before the season started, or his contract status.
“I don't want to talk about contracts,” he said. “If you want, let's talk about our team. We played a really good game today. If you have any other questions, let's talk about: [rookie Victor] mancini [Alexis Lafreniere’s] It can be a goal or anything. ”
The Rangers needed Shesterkin to stand firm to get through a small siege in the opening frame, during which he was forced to make 10 saves to keep the Penguins off the board.
Head coach Peter Laviolette said of Shesterkin's play in the first 20 minutes, “It was good. There are definitely things to note.” “There are things he can improve on, but he was there. He understood it well and looked like he was in complete control of the game.”
Mancini was informed by president and general manager Chris Drury on Monday afternoon that he would be removed from training camp.
A conversation with Laviolette followed, where he praised the 22-year-old's body of work in preseason.
Bang, bang, boom — and Mancini was taking his rookie lap on the ice at PPG Paints Arena Wednesday night before making his NHL debut in the Rangers' lineup.
“I couldn't wipe the smile off my face,” Mancini said of learning he had been selected for the team. “Obviously, this is something you've been working on since you were little. I'm so excited to be here, but I know this is just the beginning. I want this to be just the beginning. I guess.”
Ryan Lindgren, who is on injured reserve with an upper-body injury, participated in Wednesday morning's skate wearing a green non-contact jersey and a full face shield.
“It's Opening Day. If someone can practice with us, we want them to practice with us instead of having them stay,” Laviolette said. “It's great to have him there. It gets him back into the training feel. That's the beginning of the journey back.”
Jimmy Vesey accompanied the Rangers to Pittsburgh even though he was on long-term injured reserve.
There were no surprises regarding the power play unit on opening night.
The first group stars Adam Fox, Chris Kreider, Mika Zibanejad, Artemi Panarin, and Vincent Trocheck, while the second group stars Quandre Miller, Riley Smith, Kaapo Kakko, and Alexis Lafre. It consisted of Nyerere and Philippe Sittil.
Wednesday night's power play ended 2-0, but the Rangers' penalty kill avoided all three of Pittsburgh's man-advantage chances.
