It’s probably the last thing a New York Rangers fan wants to think about after the Game Four debacle, but netminder Igor Shesterkin has been named a Vezina Trophy finalist. All we can say is thank goodness the voting was done before the playoffs started.
Shesterkin is up against Jacob Markstrom of Calgary and Juuse Saros of Nashville. To be honest, Shesterkin should win just by looking at statistics. He leads the way in all traditional statistics as well as advanced analytics.
When it comes to intangibles, all three finalists played for teams that could be seen as overachievers and they did it because of their goalies. That’s why Saros is a finalist and not Frederik Andersen of Carolina who had an excellent season.
So, congratulations are due to Igor Shesterkin who is in line to become the sixth Rangers goalie to have his name engraved on the Vezina Trophy, joining Dave Kerr, Ed Giacomin, Gilles Villemure, John Vanbiesbrouck and Henik Lundqvist.
Here’s the statistical comparison, it’s work a look:
Goals Against Average (GAA)
Shesterkin led the way with a stellar 2.07 GAA. Markstrom was third but Saros was 15th overall with a 2.64 GAA.
- Igor Shesterkin, Rangers 2.07
- Frederik Andersen, Hurricanes 2.17
- Jacob Markstrom, Flames 2.22
- Ilya Sorokin, Islanders 2.40
- Jeremy Swayman, Bruins 2.41
Save Percentage (Sv%)
Shesterkin again led the league with a Sv% that was the seventh best in NHL history since they started tracking those stats in 1955-56. Juuse Saros was eighth overall at .918..
- Igor Shesterkin, Rangers .935
- Ilya Sorokin, Islanders .925
- Frederik Andersen, Hurricanes .922
- Jacob Markstrom, Flames .922
- Darcy Kuemper, Avalanche .921
Wins
Shesterkin just missed the top five with 36 wins in 53 starts.
- Sergei Bobrovsky, Panthers 39 (54 starts)
- Andrei Vasilevskiy, Lightning 39 (63 starts)
- Juuse Saros, Predators 38 (67 starts)
- Darcy Kuemper, Avalanche 37 (57 starts)
- Jakob Markstrom, Flames 37 (63 starts)
Goals Saved Above Expected (GSAA)
This is a fairly news statistic, but it has become the darling of the analytics crowd and in this category, Shesterkin is head and shoulders above all other netminders. He saved 42 goals from being scored that would have been scored on an average NHL goalie.
- Igor Shesterkin, Rangers 42.48
- Ilya Sorokin, Islanders 28.74
- Jacob Markstrom, Flames 23. 05
- Darcy Kuemper, Avalanche 22.55
- Juuse Saros, Predators 21.45
High Danger Save Percentage (2,500 minutes)
This is the save percentage on high danger shots in all situations. Juuse Saros is eighth in the NHL with .842.
- Igor Shesterkin, Rangers .873
- Ilya Sorokin, Islanders .861
- Jake Oettinger, Stars .855
- Darcy Kuemper, Avalanche .852
- Jacob Markstrom, Flames .849
High Danger Save Percentage on the Penalty Kill (250 minutes)
The adage is that your best penalty killer is your goalie. This is the save percentage on high danger shots during the penalty kill. If that’s the case, then Shesterkin was the est penalty killer in the NHL. 11 goalies played over 250 minutes on the penalty kill. Shesterkin allowed 18 goals, the fewest of those 11 netminders.
- Igor Shesterkin, Rangers .896
- Juuse Saros, Predators .833
- Sergei Bobrovsky, Panthers .831
- Jacob Markstrom, Flames .825
- Marc-Andre Fleury, Blackhawks-Wild .813
Shutouts
Shesterkin finished third with six shutouts and he had one shared shutout when he had to leave a game with an injury late in the third period.
- Jacob Markstrom, Flames 9
- Ilya Sorokin, Islanders 7
- Igor Shesterkin, Rangers 6
- Jack Campbell, Maple Leafs 5 (49 starts)
- Darcy Kuemper, Avalanche 5 (57 starts)