For the New York Rangers, their 2025-26 season is officially over following a lackluster effort against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday, losing 4-3. This was a long time coming, as this season just wasn't destined to have any kind of success attached to it.
There is one thing that has stood out over the last stretch, and that has been the play from goaltender Igor Shesterkin. Particularly in the last four games, in which he has been mostly underwhelming at best, and the Rangers have suffered because of it. It is a stark contrast to how hot he looked coming out of the Olympic break. Usually, if the team is not performing great, their franchise goaltender is bailing them out with unbelievable saves, but that has not been the case.
What is up with #31?
At 0-4 over the last four starts, allowing 14 goals over that stretch, when this team was rapidly free-falling toward that playoff elimination, Shesterkin did not show up. He succumbed to the pressure, much of which was due to the horrific play in front of him. It is hard to win with less-than-stellar defense. His only good start of late was his 31-save performance against Ottawa in which his team originally mustered nine shots on goal, later stat corrected to give them 10 for the game.
Opponent | Goals Against | Saves | SV% |
|---|---|---|---|
TOR | 4 | 14 | .778 |
OTT | 2 | 31 | .939 |
CBJ | 5 | 31 | .861 |
LAK | 3 | 22 | .880 |
The vibe of this season has been that the Rangers are a bottom-of-the-barrel team in the NHL. That has been known, and certainly, the players feel that sentiment as well. The "Letter 2.0" and the move of Artemi Panarin signaled the end, even with the retention of Vincent Trocheck following the trade deadline.
For Shesterkin, he signed this historic contract for a goaltender for eight years, $92 million, with the hope that this wouldn't happen. Now, at least another one to two years of that deal will be without a chance to chase the Stanley Cup, and instead be trying to play superb hockey with prospects and a retool in front of him.
It is not exactly the most appealing situation to be in, especially for someone as competitive as Shesterkin, who takes winning very seriously. It is possible that Shesterkin just had an off night against Toronto with their season all but officially over to that point. The other losses are typical run of the mills performances, it's just the nature of them stacked upon each other which could be a cause for concern. That said, it will be interesting to see how he plays down the stretch now that the team is eliminated. Ideally, now is the time for Dylan Garand to get additional playing time, but that remains to be seen.