Blue Line Station
Fansided

New York Rangers: Three Tricks of 2023-24 Season So Far

By Conor Power

VANCOUVER, CANADA - OCTOBER 28: The New York Rangers celebrate an overtime win as Casey DeSmith #29 of the Vancouver Canucks skates on during their NHL game at Rogers Arena on October 28, 2023 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. (Photo by Derek Cain/Getty Images)
VANCOUVER, CANADA - OCTOBER 28: The New York Rangers celebrate an overtime win as Casey DeSmith #29 of the Vancouver Canucks skates on during their NHL game at Rogers Arena on October 28, 2023 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. (Photo by Derek Cain/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
2 of 4
Next
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – OCTOBER 19: Igor Shesterkin #31 of the New York Rangers takes a first-period water break during the game against the Nashville Predators at Madison Square Garden on October 19, 2023, in New York City. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – OCTOBER 19: Igor Shesterkin #31 of the New York Rangers takes a first-period water break during the game against the Nashville Predators at Madison Square Garden on October 19, 2023, in New York City. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /

Igor Shesterkin’s Early Season Struggles

Probably the biggest concern of the young season is Igor Shesterkin‘s early season issues. Through six games, Shesterkin’s got a 2.56 goals-against average and a .905 save percentage with a 5-2 record. While this is far from the worst numbers a goaltender could post, you would expect a lot more from Igor Shesterkin, who is trying to win the Vezina Trophy for the second time.

You can look at this in a couple of different ways. Shesterkin has had 179 shots thrown at him. That’s insufficient to get a good idea of whether his save percentage is accurate. This is because sample size does matter. His save percentage could be dragged down to .905 because of the poor showing the Rangers had against the Predators. This doesn’t exonerate Igor, but it explains why he has such a poor numerical display in that category.

You can also look at the record and justifiably make the case that Shesterkin has been satisfactory despite the statistical struggle in his GAA and save percentage due to the one lousy performance he has had against the Nashville Predators. However, it’s still not what you expect from the Rangers’ next generational netminder. It’s been a concerning start to the NHL season for the Moscow native.

Now, of all the things in here, we can expect Igor Shesterkin to figure it out. If the Rangers are going to make noise in the postseason, they will need their star netminder to work it out. When Shesterkin rewrote the record books, he set himself a standard that he has failed to live up to since. New York will need him to get back to it soon.

Home/Editorials