New York Rangers Igor Shesterkin remains undefeated when bombarded by shots
The New York Rangers stole a win in Toronto. There is no better way to put it.
When Artemi Panarin quickly snapped a shot in OT to beat Jack Campbell he jumped high into the air with elation. Half the bench went to the Breadman, while the other half went to their goalie.
Igor Shesterkin may not have scored a goal last night, but he absolutely stopped about a dozen from the Leafs. When the two heroes met to congratulate, Shesterkin saluted Panarin with a little leg kick that is the Breadman’s signature goal celebration.
It was a cool moment, and likely a thank you for not wasting one of the best goalie performances of the young season.
Shesterkin thrives when facing a ton of shots
The joy and elation that the Rangers experienced last night maybe should not have been a surprise. After Panarin potted the winner, Igor Shesterkin improved to 9-0-0 when facing 36+ plus shots in a game. He is 7-0-0 when the totals hit 40+.
What’s also impressive within those numbers is that Igor has allowed one goal or less three times in games where he’s made at least 40 stops.
“Well deserved by our goalie, for sure,” Gerard Gallant said via NHL.com. “He was incredible tonight. He obviously stole us a couple of points in here tonight… Our goalie was outstanding. Just his athleticism. He’s strong, he plays hard on every puck, he’s always square to the puck.”
With the win, Shesterkin is now 2-0-1 this season with a 1.62 GAA and a .949 SV%. Impressive, Nyet?
“He was pretty spectacular all night. We didn’t have our best game, but sometimes you need your goalie to steal one for you, and he definitely did it tonight,” Jacob Trouba said about Igor’s performance. “We weren’t at our best, but we found a way to grind through it. We gave up way too many shots, way too many chances, but he was there so I give him a lot of credit.”
Now I’m not recommending that the Rangers just let a team have their way against them, but it sure must be comforting to know you have a goaltender who can make the clutch save in a game you have no business being in.
You know, like when Henrik Lundqvist was in goal not too long ago.
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