Immediately after Monday's loss to the Rangers, Derek Lalonde continued to praise Igor Shesterkin throughout a press conference with Red Wings branding in the background. “A very, very special goalkeeper.” 4-1 difference in the game.
And the Detroit head coach, who watched a lot of elite goaltending from Andrei Vasilevskiy as a Lightning assistant, offered the most notable praise of the night: [million]. He's a good agent. ”
Since Shesterkin turned down an eight-year, $88 million contract extension that would have made him the highest-paid goaltender in the NHL, he has continued to bail out the Blueshirts, especially in the second period, in a sample of three regular-season games. Ta. The Red Wings are off to a strong start in what turned out to be a contract season.
Monday didn't have the same ending as the shutout in the opening game. It wasn't as eventful as the Rangers' loss to the Utah Hockey Club on Saturday.
But while the Rangers solve their defensive challenges in front of a Vezina Trophy-winning goaltender, Shesterkin probably won't be with the team until everything goes well enough to push his price tag up and up. has provided early evidence that it can help close the gap.
“It was a really difficult game to judge him.” [Saturday]” head coach Peter Laviolette said after the game. You might be able to make one, but if you need four or five, you'll run into problems.
“So I was happy to see us get better in front of him and tighten up a little bit in front of him. But there's still work to do and that's a goalie's job to make big saves.” And he's really good at that. ”
Last year, everything revolved around Shesterkin's struggles by the time the All-Star break arrived, and his save percentage was below .900. He didn't record his first shutout of the season until February.
There was briefly some question as to whether the surging Jonathan Quick would be able to take the start from Shesterkin during the reset. But the Rangers held on to their franchise goaltender through tough moments, and after a while, their patience paid off, especially during their run to the Eastern Conference Finals.
But during the 2024-25 season, through intense developments like the first three games and the more than five months of struggles that followed, the underlying background of Shesterkin's contract situation, the contract he turned down, and That will likely include an impending free. Agency.
So far, he has played a key role in scoring five of the Rangers' six points. According to Money Puck, Shesterkin has an expected goals against average of 9.34, which is the fourth-highest score in the NHL, but he has allowed just seven goals.
Midway through Monday's opening period, Shesterkin tracked Lucas Raymond as he approached the net, tucked the puck in, hesitated, then fired a shot at him. Then, in the second period, with the Rangers taking a penalty, Shesterkin held position in front of the net as both JT Compher and Patrick Kane had chances — one of his six saves on the penalty kill. He made three saves and made three of his 14 saves on the penalty kill. Made in the second period.
“We just need to focus,” Shesterkin said after the second period. “If it's 14 shots, I need to be ready. If it's one shot, I need to be ready.”
That interim period frustrated Laviolette, he said. The Rangers were “too casual.” While the first and third periods showed progress, the second period saw a return to the same defensive issues that plagued almost everyone, a combination of a forward line and a new defense.
Mika Zibanejad said Shesterkin gives the Rangers a chance to win in every start, and Monday was the latest example of that. He prevented the Blueshirts' defensive lapses from becoming even worse. So far, it's been measured by five points, zero goals conceded and all the saves he's racked up.
In Lalonde's eyes, it's worth more than $88 million.
