Igor Shesterkin Is Not The Reason The Team Is Struggling

Igor Shesterkin was the Rangers’ MVP last season. He won the Vezina Trophy as the league’s best goalie and he put up incredible numbers. This season, while he has not put up Vezina trophy numbers, he is still giving the team a chance to win each game he plays. Shesterkin should not have to blame himself for the struggles of the team. Others players need to take accountability.

After the 5-3 loss to the Devils at MSG, Shesterkin spoke to the media and blamed himself for the loss. Not just this loss, but he blamed himself for many of the losses this season. Shesterkin said, “The goalie played a poor game again. I’m playing so badly, so I’m ashamed. If our team wants to win the game, I have to play better.” Shesterkin put all the blame on himself, but he is not the only player not playing up to expectations.

Jacob Trouba, the captain of the Rangers, has not taken any accountability for the losses. He has not once said that he blames himself for losing a game. While it’s not all on Trouba, he is the captain and the team looks to him for leadership and for hope. Trouba has been dealing with a lingering injury, but he is still playing every game and in those games, he does not look good. If anyone should be taking accountability for the team’s poor play, it’s the captain.

Shesterkin has a record of 10-4-3 this season with a .913 save percentage and 2.58 goals against average. He has all of the Rangers’ wins this season and while these numbers are not what he put up last season, he is still playing very well. One stat I saw last night was that Shesterkin has let up four goals in five of his starts at MSG. He only did that twice last season.

If the Rangers hope to get on a winning streak, they need to improve their overall team play and they need to help out Shesterkin. He is not making incredible save after save like last season. The team needs to realize this and they need to start playing a much better game. If they stick to how they’ve been playing, missing the playoffs is not the only problem the Rangers will have to deal with this season.