Jonathan Quick may need to give Igor Shesterkin more timeouts
Rangers goaltender Jonathan Quick stretches before the start of the second period against the Anaheim Ducks at Madison Square Garden last December. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
As they began their All-Star break Sunday, the Rangers returned defenseman Connor Mackey to their Hartford Wolf Pack farm team. But they owe him a debt of gratitude.
Mackey was called up Saturday when the Rangers learned their captain, Jacob Trouba, had been suspended for two games by the NHL for an elbow to the jaw of Vegas Golden Knights forward Pavel Dorofeyev Friday night. And with Ryan Lindgren out of Saturday’s game because of an upper-body injury, both seventh defenseman Zac Jones and Mackey were in the lineup against the Ottawa Senators. Jones scored a goal, his first of the season, and all Mackey did was spark the Rangers’ comeback in their 7-2 victory and maybe save their season.
Mackey hit Ottawa center Tim Stutzle with a clean body check early in the second period and then fought Senators captain Brady Tkachuk immediately after. The fight seemed to fire up the team, which trailed 2-0 at that point but would score its first goal 53 seconds later and go on to score four more in the period and seven unanswered in the game to enter the break on a positive note.
The win ended a two-game losing streak and a string of four losses in five games (1-3-1) for the Rangers, and it was their 30th of the season (30-16-3) and kept them in first place in the Metropolitan Division, two points ahead of the Carolina Hurricanes.
They finished the pre-All-Star portion of the season 4-6-2 in their last 12 games, 5-7-2 in January, and 12-12-2 in their last 26 games, dating to Dec. 5. They surely needed the break, but they do have some stuff to figure out when they return for the final 33 games of the season, beginning Feb. 5 against Colorado.
The team announced Sunday that center Filip Chytil, who had a setback Friday in his attempt to return from what is believed to be a concussion, is done for the season. That move — the best decision for Chytil — also frees up GM Chris Drury to get to work on acquiring a center to replace Chytil and play on the team’s third line. With Chytil on long term injured reserve (LTIR), Drury can exceed the salary cap by the full amount of Chytil’s $4.43 million salary.
Coach Peter Laviolette, who will coach the Metro Division team at All-Star Weekend in Toronto, is going to have to figure out what to do with his All-Star goalie Igor Shesterkin, who certainly hasn’t played like an All-Star for the Rangers. Shesterkin’s goals-against average (2.86) and save percentage (.899) are career worsts, and the Rangers need more from him.
It may be that the solution will be to give more time to 38-year-old backup Jonathan Quick, who was in goal Saturday and has a GAA of 2.43 and a save percentage of .915. According to the analytics site Moneypuck, Shesterkin, the 2022 Vezina Trophy winner, has been average at best, while Quick has been clearly above average.
According to the site, Shesterkin’s Expected Goals allowed over his 32 games are 90.66, based on the number of shots he’s faced and their level of difficulty. He’s allowed 90 actual goals, which means he’s making all the saves he should, but isn’t doing any more than that.
Quick’s Expected Goals, meanwhile, are 49.17. He has allowed 40 actual goals, meaning he is doing more than just making the saves he’s supposed to make.
Colin Stephenson covers the Rangers for Newsday. He has spent more than two decades covering the NHL and just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.
