New York Rangers goalie of the future Igor Shesterkin is now the goalie of the present, undefeated after a 5-3 win over the Avalanche at Madison Square Garden.
There was a buzz surrounding tonight’s game similar to opening night when Kaapo Kakko and Artemi Panarin made their debuts. We’ve heard so much about Igor Shesterkin that his first game with the New York Rangers was must watch hockey. Shesterkin and the Rangers did not let us down.
Throw in the fact that it was on national television and the game took on an importance that an early January game between a Western Conference powerhouse and an Eastern Conference wannabe didn’t deserve.
What would be the worst case scenario for a young goaltender in his first NHL game? Falling behind 2-0 after six and a half minutes would probably be on the list. Make one of the goals a Nathan MacKinnon breakaway and that clinches it.
That’s exactly what happened as the Rangers forgot how to play defense on the first goal and a horrible mistake by Adam Fox led to the breakaway. But the Rangers fought right back and knotted the score and then took the lead. The Blueshirts then gave up the tying goal on one of the few bad defensive shifts in the second period, but retook the lead and never looked back, salting the win away with an empty net goal.
It was an exciting game and the Avalanche pushed hard, but the Rangers played their second straight solid defensive game. Shesterkin was very good in the third period and deserved the win.
Ryan Lindgren suffered an upper body injury (can anyone say concussion) when he was pummeled by Nazem Kadri after Lindgren had laid out Joonas Donskoi with a check that will get attention from the league.
Mika Zibanejad and Artemi Panarin both got back onto the scoresheet and when that happens, good things result. Adam Fox won the battle of rookie defenseman over Cale Makar with an assist. But the main story was Igor Shesterkin and his rebound from a rocky start was a good sign. He had the crowd chanting “Igor” by the middle of his third NHL period.
The win brings the Blueshirts within six points of the wild card as their improbable ride continues this season. Each win brings reason to have hope for the future. Shesterkin’s performance is reason for even more.