If you had to pick one position to associate with the New York Rangers' franchise, the odds are you would say goalie, and that's just because the organization has three banners hanging from the rafters celebrating three iconic keepers of the crease with a fourth likely to hang at some point in the future. This week's theme at FanSided NHL is all about the best and worst of each franchise, and to surprise of most... I have a best goalie story that does not involve Henrik Lundqvist, Mike Richter, Ed Giacomin, or Igor Shesterkin!
Potentially hard to believe, but if you've been a fan of the team for a long enough time, you might already know where things are going. With that being said, let's stroll down memory lane and remember the best part time goalie in Blueshirts history.
Mackenzie Skapski was an absolute fever dream
The name Mackenzie Skapski is one that all fans should know, not just because of what he did for the Rangers, but for the simple fact that it is a great hockey name. Heck, if you shorten it in a fashion that is all too common in the sport, in this case it would be Mack Skap, that's still a decent name for a goaltender.
Skapski was drafted by the Rangers in the sixth round of the 2013 NHL Draft, and previously played for the Kootenay Ice. The 2014-15 season was an interesting year for the Rangers, and Skapski started the season in the ECHL with the Greenville Road Warriors. He quickly joined the Hartford Wolf Pack, and he ended the season with a record of 15-8-4 with a .914 save percentage and 2.40 goals against average in the regular season.
During this season Lundqvist took a puck off his throat, and he was sidelined for an extended period which resulted in Cam Talbot becoming the team's starting goalie. Talbot started eight games in a row after Lundqvist's injury, and then coach Alain Vigneault decided it was time for him to get a break.
Skapski got the start on the road against the Buffalo Sabres, and 14 seconds into the game Matt Moulson provided him with his "welcome to the NHL" moment by scoring to give Buffalo a 1-0 lead. From that point on, Skapski was a brick wall and never allowed a goal again. He stopped the remaining 24 shots he faced that night, and earned his first NHL win.
The story doesn't end there as Skapski got his second start, once again vs. Buffalo, on March 15, 2015. The Blueshirts returned to Buffalo for another road game, and Skapski was lights out with a 20-save shutout.
That was the final time Skapski appeared in the NHL, and his career line with the Rangers includes a 2-0-0 record, a ,978 save percentage, a 0.50 goals against average, and one shutout. Despite looking good in a limited sample, he struggled in the minors from that point on.
Skapski had a .902 save percentage and 3.05 goals against average in 13 starts with Hartford, and a .901 save percentage and 3.26 goals against average in 27 games in the ECHL. The 2016-17 season was his last in the AHL, and he had a .856 save percentage along with a 4.73 goals against average which landed him back in the ECHL.
To his credit, he did play well in Slovakia, and that included a .928 save percentage and a 2.13 goals against average in the regular season, and a .932 save percentage and a 1.67 goals against average in the playoffs.
In any case, Skapski's short stint with the Rangers was absolutely legendary. To allow a goal 14 seconds in, and then just never allow another one for the rest of your NHL career is something I am fairly confident you will never see again.
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