New York Rangers All-Star and all-world goaltender Igor Shesterkin was the king of goaltenders in the NHL last season.
Shesterkin, 27, won the Vezina Trophy as the league’s top goaltender in the regular season. He posted a 36-13-04 record with a 2.07 goals-against average, a .935 save percentage, and six shutouts.
The man they call “Shesty” was also outstanding in the Stanley Cup playoffs in getting the Blueshirts to within two wins of going to the Stanley Cup Final. He finished the postseason with a 10-9 record while posting a 2.59 goals-against average and a .929 save percentage.
Going into the season, it was easy for the Rangers and their fans to expect the same performance that Shesterkin provided last season. He was coming off a year in which he did just about everything right except win the Cup.
For the most part, Shesterkin has also been good this season. He is currently (Wednesday, January 11) 19-6-6 with a 2.49 goals-against average, a .916 save percentage, and has one shutout.
After a sluggish start for both Shesterkin and the team as a whole, he has helped get his team back into a playoff spot. The Rangers are third in the Metropolitan Division and are tied for eighth in the NHL with a 23-12-7 record and 53 points.
Shesterkin’s play also has him in the top half of several notable goaltending statistics:
- 11th in goals-against average
- 12th in save percentage
- Tied for third in wins
- 16th in shutouts
The numbers mentioned above would be great for any other goaltender. With that said, there is no doubt that as good as Shesterkin has been this season, he can be better than he has been.
For starters, he needs to be better on breakaways. Time and time again this season, he has been beaten in one-on-one situations, and it is usually because he is getting caught too deep in his crease.
Shesterkin never had that problem last season. When it came to breakaways, he stayed with the shooter and let him make the first move.
He has also had a lot of pucks go through him this season. There is no worse feeling as a goaltender than having a puck go through you, and that has been a problem for Shesterkin this season.
Last year, Shesterkin closed everything up. He rarely gave up any goals through the five-hole, and he did a great job of swallowing pucks into his gear.
Again, it is not that Shesterkin has played badly this season or anything like that. He was named to the All-Star team and has 19 of the team’s 23 wins this season.
It is just that he can play a lot better than he has been. If he does that, the Rangers will not only climb up in the standings, but they will once again end up being a serious Cup contender come April.
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