Igor Shesterkin seems well-deserving of his impending status as the highest-paid goaltender in the NHL so far this season, but his performance in Thursday night's game against the Sabers at Madison Square was disappointing. No netminder could have bailed the Rangers out of their lackluster performance. garden.
Head coach Peter Laviolette was forced to remove his star goaltender after he gave up five goals on 12 shots in the first 33 minutes and 11 seconds of the game, and his save percentage dropped 14 points from .933 to .919. .
“It was a bad day,” said Shesterkin, who fell to 6-3-1 on the season. “We need to turn the page and prepare for the next game.
The 28-year-old was unable to get off to a strong start, conceding the first goal of the game after just 26 seconds.
A typical save from Shesterkin, the puck passed between his legs, giving the Sabers an early lead.
The Rangers were down 5-0 with 13 minutes and 51 seconds left in the game, and when Laviolette ordered Shesterkin to the bench, the injuries continued to pile up in front of him.
Sam Lafferty's goal in transition (the Sabers' second of the rushoff period) was the final straw for Laviolette.
“That's completely on us,” Adam Fox said. “It wasn't necessarily a question of quantity, it was a question of quality. You don't have a goalkeeper who saves the chances you get. It sucks. When we were at our best, he was there for us every game. This certainly wasn't our best. We just left him there to dry.”
Alexis Lafreniere, Kaapo Kakko and Filip Chytil sat on the bench for much of the third period.
All three skaters did not see the ice until the first 6 minutes and 58 seconds of the final frame, with Lafniere and Sitil receiving just three shifts and Kakko four shifts in the final 20 minutes of the match.
“I thought some of the players' actions tonight were out of line,” Laviolette said. “I tried to get a few guys back on the field and move them around. We didn't look very good. The players that looked a little more pop to me were the players I was trying to get back on the ice. It was.”
The Rangers went 0-for-4 on the power play, but managed to kill three of Buffalo's four man-advantage chances. Zach Benson scored the Sabers' only power play goal in the third period.
