Rangers’ Igor Shesterkin, Vincent Trocheck plan ‘some chirping’ with coach after NHL All-Star Game win
TORONTO – Peter Laviolette better have packed earplugs for the flight home from the 2024 NHL All-Star Game. The New York Rangers coach is sure to hear plenty of trash talk from All-Stars Vincent Trocheck and Igor Shesterkin about the final outcome Saturday.
Trocheck and Shesterkin helped Team Matthews win the round-robin All-Star tournament here, besting Team McDavid, which was coached by Laviolette, for the championship.
“We’re flying back together, there’s going to be some chirping on the plane,” Trocheck promised.
Related: Rangers’ Igor Shesterkin gets goalie hug, faces rival at NHL All-Star skills
Igor Shesterkin, Vincent Trocheck help lead Team Matthews to NHL All-Star Game victory
The two Rangers’ All-Stars earned the right to brag. Trocheck had an assist in a 6-5 shootout win against Team Hughes in their first game and another assist in a 7-4 win against Team McDavid.
Hometown hero Auston Matthews of the Maple Leafs was named All-Star Game MVP. Matthews had four points (two goals, two assists) in the pair of victories.
Shesterkin was a standout for the winning team. Notably he stopped all four shooters when Team Matthews took the shootout 1-0. And in the final game, Shesterkin made a series of incredible saves to share the win with Dallas Stars goalie Jake Oettinger.
“I mean I get to see it all the time,” Trocheck said of Shesterkin’s heroics. “But it was cool to be on the bench with the guys and [hear] ‘Oh my God!’ over his saves. I mean, he made some insane saves today. As we all know, he does that day-in and day-out in New York. So, it was cool to see here.”
In the shootout, Shesterkin made a save on Winnipeg Jets forward Kyle Connor and denied Nikita Kucherov of the Tampa Bay Lightning with a glove save in the first two rounds. Vancouver Canucks forward Elias Pettersson had the puck roll off his stick and then Shesterkin made a quick poke check against former Rangers forward J.T. Miller to seal the victory.
“Most important, I stopped Kucherov,” joked Shesterkin about his countryman. “After that, I just tried to stop the puck again.”
A jovial Shesterkin later added that there’s one keepsake he’s taking home from the All-Star game.
“Check for one million [dollars],” the goalie said with a smirk. “Signed.”
The winning team shared the $1 million prize. Trocheck said he had “no idea” about how the winnings will be shared.
“First time I was at an All-Star game (in 2017), we were out in the first game by like seven goals. I left in a hurry.”
Money aside, there was plenty for Trocheck and Shesterkin to enjoy these past few days. Not the least of which was meeting their celebrity captain, Justin Bieber.
“He’s just such a cool, nice, normal guy,” Trocheck shared. “He was having such a blast, too, which was really cool to see.”
When each Rangers All-Star left the interview area, they knew that good times were going to continue on the flight back to New York.
Plug up coach.
More About:New York Rangers Features New York Rangers News