Igor Shesterkin's Performances
It's really strangle to be in a world where Igor Shesterkin has been underperforming. Yet, here we are. Shesterkin has played in 18 games this season, putting up a measly .904 save percentage and a 2.91 goals against average. He's not been the world-beating Igor Shesterkin we've all come to know and love. In fact, he's been league average. This has not been a season to remember for the former Vezina Trophy winner.
Igor missed a few games earlier in the season after being injured in the game against the Carolina Hurricanes when Jesperi Kotkaniemi collided with the Russian netminder, but when he has played, he hasn't looked like the goaltender that the Rangers have relied on in the last few seasons. Perhaps the rust from the start of the season complied with the injury shook him enough to create this kind of chaos in his game, but it is certainly been a cause for concern.
New York Rangers goaltending maestro Benoit Allaire will be working with Shesterkin to try and get him back to the best version we all got to enjoy when he had a historic season two years ago. Even if we saw the Shesterkin that was very strong last season but not the world-destroyer we saw two seasons ago, it could make this Rangers team a different level of good heading into the Christmas break.
As a fanbase, we have been blessed with a string of elite goaltenders over the years. From Mike Richter to Henrik Lundqvist to now Igor Shesterkin. We've been lucky enough to see some of the best goalies in NHL history come to this city and enjoy winning with this team. If Igor can get back to that kind of player, destroying worlds and dominating the league like he was doing, this Rangers team will be so much stronger.