Blue Line Station
Fansided

Filip Chytil starring for the Hartford Wolf Pack

By Steve Paulus

NEW YORK, NY - MARCH 03: Filip Chytil #72 of the New York Rangers skates with the puck against the Washington Capitals at Madison Square Garden on March 3, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Jared Silber/NHLI via Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - MARCH 03: Filip Chytil #72 of the New York Rangers skates with the puck against the Washington Capitals at Madison Square Garden on March 3, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Jared Silber/NHLI via Getty Images) /
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HARTFORD, CT – OCTOBER 18: Puck slides away from Hartford Wolfpack goaltender Igor Shesterkin (31) after he makes save as Hartford Wolfpack defenseman Vincent Loverde (26) closes in to clear puck during the Springfield Thunderbirds and Hartford Wolfpack AHL game on October 18, 2019, at XL Center in Hartford, CT. (Photo by John Crouch/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
HARTFORD, CT – OCTOBER 18: Puck slides away from Hartford Wolfpack goaltender Igor Shesterkin (31) after he makes save as Hartford Wolfpack defenseman Vincent Loverde (26) closes in to clear puck during the Springfield Thunderbirds and Hartford Wolfpack AHL game on October 18, 2019, at XL Center in Hartford, CT. (Photo by John Crouch/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

Shesterkin excelling

One other interesting note is the progress of Igor Shesterkin.  He pitched a 1-0 shutout on Friday night against the Springfield Thunderbirds.  He was named first star of the game as  he stopped all 36 Springfield shots.  He is off to a tremendous start with a 3-0 record, a 1.34 goals against average and a scintillating save percentage of .952.  If he keeps this up, the Rangers will have some interesting decisions to make.

Video is hard to come by when it comes to the Wolf Pack, but here are highlights of the Springfield game.  Shesterkin makes a couple saves including one on a breakaway.  If you watch the clip you will also see Vitali Kravtsov get in the face of Owen Tippett, starting a scrum in the corner.

Hartford is one of four AHL teams to remain undefeated in regulation and they are in first place in the Atlantic Division. Their offense is clicking, but they are doing it with defense as their 2.17 goal against per game average is second best in the league.

The Wolf Pack’s schedule is as bizarre as the Rangers’ with six games in the first 20 days of the season (the Blueshirts play seven).  They are off until next Saturday when they begin a stretch of six games in nine days.  The question is with the Wolf Pack off until next weekend and with the Rangers playing two games in that time, do they bring Chytil up?

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