Rangers Need Igor Shesterkin to be Great to Win the Metropolitan Division
By Conor Power
This New York Rangers roster is unlike anything else in the Metropolitan Division. Without the firepower of the New Jersey Devils or the depth of the Carolina Hurricanes, this next season will be an uphill struggle if the Rangers want to win the Metropolitan Division title. What the Rangers have that no other team in the division (with the exception of the Islanders) have is elite goaltending.
Igor Shesterkin is still among the best netminders in the league. Coming off a season that many critics dubbed as a down year for the Moscow native, this is a chance for him to prove to the league that he is still the netminder that re-wrote the record books a year ago. Igor needs to prove that he is the best of the best among goaltenders in the NHL.
New York will need their star goalie to do what he does best next and make up the difference in what this team has and the other teams that will be fighting with the Blueshirts for the Metropolitan Division title. This isn’t to suggest or say that this Rangers roster cannot win the division if Igor is not at his best. They certainly do.
Igor’s issues in the recent season need to be overcome because he is what the Rangers have that others don’t. We’ve all seen the days when the Russian netminder decided to build a wall that would rival the iron curtain and stop pucks like nobody else in the league could. It’s the strength of this Rangers roster. If the Rangers cannot flex their strength, they will be second best because this Metro division is so strong.
This isn’t just the New York Rangers; every team needs its best players to excel. Imagine the Devils if their top six struggled. Imagine the Hurricanes if that blueline fails. Each big dog in the Metropolitan will need what makes it special to be good if they survive this bloodbath division.