Igor Shesterkin goalie fight highlights Rangers latest win, 4-1 over Devils
It’s hard to say if Igor Shesterkin impressed more with his mask on or off Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden, when the New York Rangers defeated the New Jersey Devils 4-1.
With his mask on, the Rangers goalie stopped 22 of 23 shots to backstop New York’s third consecutive victory. When he took the mask off — along with his glove and blocker — Shesterkin put a beating on New Jersey’s Jacob Markstrom, who challenged him to a goalie fight in the third period.
“Iām trying not to swear, but that was awesome. I know he’s a fierce competitor, a leader for our team, but that was ā that was awesome,” captain J.T. Miller said afterward. “For everything that’s going on here and this year in this arena, for that to happen, that was the most pumped up I’ve been all season. I’m so happy for him. It’s a great, great moment.”
It all was a part of a fun night at the Garden, beginning with Mika Zibanejad being presented with the Steven McDonald Extra Effort Award for the third time in his Rangers career. Zibanejad then was one of four different goal scorers, joined by Conor Sheary, Miller, and Jaroslav Chmelar. Adam Fox contributed a pair of assists, one of 10 Rangers with at least a point in this one.
It’s the fist time the Rangers (31-35-9) won three straight on home ice all season. And it was their first win in the season series against the Devils (1-2-0).
The Rangers scored on their first shot of the night, and again on their fifth, to jump out to a 2-0 lead in the first period. Sheary continued his most productive stretch of the season, scoring his fifth goal in 12 games to open the scoring at 8:14. The veteran wing deftly deflected Tye Kartye’s right-point shot down and past Markstrom for his sixth goal of the season.
It was a deflating moment for the Devils, since they had a 5-0 shots advantage nearly halfway through the first period, yet trailed on the scoreboard.
New Jersey’s Dougie Hamilton took a high-sticking minor at 12:25, and that allowed the Rangers to double their lead roughly a minute later. Camped just outside the blue paint, Miller redirected a perfect centering feed from Alexis Lafreniere into the net for a power-play goal at 13:39. It was Miller’s 16th goal of the season, fifth on the power play, and the Rangers had a 2-0 lead they carried into the intermission.
The Devils started strong again the second period, and this time broke through against Shesterkin. Connor Brown potted his 16th goal off a scramble in front of the net 51 seconds into the period to cut the Rangers lead in half, 2-1.
The visitors came close to tying the score at 6:26, but Simon Nemec’s left-wing shot hit the post during another scrambly sequence. Two minutes later, Shesterkin stoned Nick Bjugstad on a clear short-handed breakaway.
Chmelar added to New Jersey’s frustration shortly thereafter, burying his own rebound after he originally deflected a shot by Braden Schneider. It was the rookie’s third goal, and put the Rangers back up by a pair.
Zibanejad finished off a gorgeous passing sequence with Fox and Gabe Perreault to make it 4-1 Rangers just 3:49 into the third period to pretty much put this one away.
But the real fireworks came nearly six minutes later. After the Rangers killed off wo consecutive Devils power plays, New Jersey’s Paul Cotter bumped Shesterkin in his crease after a whistle at 9:05. The Rangers took exception to the hit, and mugged Cotter behind the net.
Shesterkin tried to get his shots in, as well, as he did Sunday against Matthew Tkachuk during New York’s 3-1 win over the Florida Panthers. That prompted Markstrom to skate the length of the ice to challenge Shesterkin, who ended up landing more punches cleanly than the Devils goalie.
“It was a great fight. I didn’t know ‘Shesty’ had that in him,” Rangers coach Mike Sullivan said postgame.
Considering all of the dismal moments for the Rangers on home ice this season, the fight, the latest victory, and a decent surge to close out the centennial campaign are most most welcome.
Key takeaways after Rangers defeat Devils 4-1
I-Gor! I-Gor!! I-Gor!!!
Markstrom wanted the goalie fight. Heck, he skated nearly 200 feet to come get Shesterkin, and barely let the Rangers goalie get his masked off before squaring off.
But Markstrom likely doesn’t want another piece of Shesterkin, who struck a boxing pose when introduced afterward as the First Star of the game.
And the Rangers prized goalie-turned-prizefighter kept his sense of humor intact postgame when discussing his pugilistic efforts.
“I thought it would be against [Ilya] Sorokin,” Shesterkin quipped about thinking his first fight would’ve been against his good friend, and current Islanders goalie.
And what was Shesterkin thinking when the 6-foot-6 Markstrom challenged him?
“How huge he is. I just didn’t want to get knocked out,” the 6-foot-1 Rangers goalie said. “I just want to say thanks to my boxing coach. … I knew this could be one punch and it’s over.”
Apparently, nothing is over until Igor says it’s over.
Extra effort
We can’t say for sure, but is it mere coincidence that the Rangers first goalie fight in 28 years (Dan Cloutier vs. Tommy Salo of the Islanders at Nassau Coliseum) took place after a fiery pregame on-ice speech from Conor McDonald, son of the late New York City Police Detective Steven McDonald?
To be honest, this latest dose of extra effort by the Rangers goes back weeks really. There’s a bit of swag to the Rangers now, admittedly too little and far too late to save their season, which long ago skidded off the rails. But the likes of Kartye, Sheary, Chmelar, Adam Sykora, and even top-six forwards like Miller and Lafreniere, provide a lot more juice in the lineup than we saw much of this season.
Oh, and Zibanejad. He very much deserves his third Steven McDonald Award, and first since the 2019-20 season. The 32-year-old did a 180 about-face from a year ago, and is New York’s best player — a consistent 200-foot player, at that.
It felt right that he landed on the score sheet with his team-high 33rd goal on this night, recognized for his extra effort throughout the 2025-26 campaign.
Next: step up in class
Right now, with how loose and confident the Rangers are playing, would you bet against them Thursday, when they take a major step up in class and host the Montreal Canadiens?
Ok, maybe you would bet against the Rangers in that one. Or should.
Yes, they’ve outscored the Chicago Blackhawks, Panthers, and Devils 13-3 during this spirited three-game renaissance. The goaltending’s been great. The compete level is impressive. Scoring is coming from all corners of the lineup.
That threesome of opponents isn’t exactly Murderers Row, though, right? Especially with the Panthers lineup decimated by injury. But you know what, good on the Rangers for showing some fight — using that term for many reasons — down the stretch.
The Canadiens have 96 points, are headed to the playoffs for the second straight season, and won six in a row. Plus, they can skate. And elite skating teams are the ones the Rangers struggle with the most this season.
Curious to see how this one goes down Thursday at the Garden. Should be fun.
