This is a question that New York Rangers head coach Peter Laviolette needs to start seriously thinking about.
Going into the season, there was no doubt that the net belonged to All-Star goaltender Igor Shesterkin. Shesterkin, 28, won the Vezina Trophy two seasons ago, took the team to the Eastern Conference Finals that same season, and had another strong campaign last year when he went 37-13-0-8 with a 2.48 goals-against average, a .916 save percentage, and three shutouts.
This season, however, has been a much different story for Shesterkin. As of this writing (Saturday night, January 27th), Shesterkin is 19-12-0-1 with a 2.86 goals-against average and a .899 save percentage.
The number of wins is certainly nice, but Shesterkin’s goals-against average and save percentage are not very Shesterkin-like. He is allowing a lot of soft goals, is having trouble coming up with the big save when his team needs one and is looking frustrated with himself between the pipes.
At this time last year, Shesterkin had just started to turn his game around. After getting off to a rather sluggish start, he started to put his game together as he was strong through the rest of the regular season and then was magnificent in a losing effort to the New Jersey Devils in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
This time around, however, there are a lot more questions than answers when it comes to Shesterkin. In what was a big home game against the Vegas Golden Knights on Friday night, January 26th, Shesterkin laid a goose egg as he allowed four goals on 19 shots and was perhaps the main reason why the team lost by a score of 5-2.
With all of that in mind, one has to wonder if Shesterkin’s backup, Jonathan Quick, deserves more playing time. If one were to base the decision on numbers alone, then the answer would be a resounding yes.
As of this writing, Quick, 38, is 10-4-0-2 with a 2.43 goals-against average, a .915 save percentage, and two shutouts. Yes, Quick has appeared in fewer games than Shesterkin, but what matters is that Quick has been more productive as a goaltender.
For starters, Quick provides a calming presence when he is in the net. A good example of this was in his team’s 7-2 win over the Ottawa Senators on Saturday night, January 27th.
When the Rangers went down 2-0, Quick made a few timely saves to keep the score that way. He did not get down on himself, he was able to move past the goals allowed and focus on the ensuing action, and he finished the game strong as he picked up the win by stopping 29 of 31 shots.
Another reason why Quick might be the right goalie to turn to right now is because he has come up with the big saves this season. There have been a few starts where the Rangers have been outplayed, but Quick was there to weather the storm and come up with timely saves to help the team win hockey games, which is what matters right now.
Lastly, Quick is a veteran. He has seen it all in his career and he knows what it takes to help a team when it matters most.
Right now, the Rangers have a very slim lead in the Metropolitan Division over the Carolina Hurricanes. Yes, all that matters is getting into the postseason, but winning the division could help them gain a favorable first-round matchup.
With the way Quick has played this season, he has been the more reliable and consistent goaltender. He may be getting up there in age, but he certainly does not play that way as he is still very agile, great at going post to post, and terrific when it comes to reading plays.
It will be interesting to see how Laviolette manages his goaltenders after the All-Star break. No matter how one looks at it, Quick’s solid play between the pipes this season needs to be a factor when it comes to determining who will get more of the net for the rest of the season.
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I agree with this article. I have been saying for about two weeks now that Igor should take a back seat and needs to earn his starting position back. I know Quick is 38 and coming off a down year but has shown nothing but excellence and consistency since coming to NY.
Start Quick more. Let Igor work his butt off to get the starting role back.