1. Igor Shesterkin
Anytime you talk about the best player on the Rangers Shesterkin will always be in the conversation. He may not have been a Vezina Trophy finalist this year, but he has been the best goalie on the planet this postseason.
Through 10 games Shesty has posted an 8-2 record with a 2.40 goals against average, a .923 save percentage, and 299 total saves. He wasn’t tested that much in the first series with the Washington Capitals but the Hurricanes bombarded him with shots in the second series and he held it down in net.
His best performance came in the double overtime thriller vs Carolina in which he faced 57 total shots, saving 54 of them. This is a game where I think the Rangers stole and the series should have been tied at one which would have changed the entire complexity of the series. The Rangers were outshot by 16, but thanks to Shesterkin the team was able to pull away with the victory.
Having a goalie you can trust like this night in and night out is extremely important, especially when the Stanley Cup is on the line. Watching the Rangers play I never feel like they are out of it knowing they have a brick wall as their last line of defense. We saw it in Game 6 against Carolina when they were down 3-1 and came back to take a 4-3 lead and Igor closed it out with countless clutch saves such as a point-blank chance from Andrei Svechnikov.
Hopefully, he can keep playing like this as he will have another tough test in the ECF against an explosive offense in the Panthers.
Honorable Mentions
Chris Kreider: Team-leading seven goals, three assists, 10 points, and 29 shots on goal. Natural hat trick in Game 6 vs Carolina.
Alexis Lafrenière: Four goals, six assists, 10 points, and 26 shots on goal. Three power-play assists and three multi-point games.