Peter Laviolette, Rangers believe Igor Shesterkin still deserves their confidence
Rangers goaltender Igor Shesterkin looks on after Toronto Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews scored in the third period of an NHL hockey game at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday, Dec. 12, 2023. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
GREENBURGH – Do the Rangers have a goaltending problem?
Coach Peter Laviolette insists they do not.
Igor Shesterkin, the 2022 Vezina Trophy winner as the NHL’s top goalie, has allowed 15 goals in his last three appearances, losing all three.
“We talked this morning,’’ Laviolette said Wednesday of he and Shesterkin. “We've got a tremendous amount of confidence and faith in him. I know his teammates do. I know what his resume says, and what he's done in the past.
“You know, there's [goal scoring] chances, and then there's breakaway chances, and three-on-one chances,’’ he said. “And [as a team] we’ve got to just clean some of that up.’’
It’s true the Rangers were subpar defensively in each of Shesterkin’s last three games. Still, 15 goals against in three games is a lot for a world-class goaltender such as Shesterkin to give up.
He certainly thinks so.
“A goalie needs to stop the puck and if you don't do that, somebody else can do it,’’ Shesterkin said last week. “So I need to do my job better if I want to stay here.’’
That last part may be a little much. Shesterkin, who has saved the Rangers’ bacon so often since he joined the team in January of 2020, isn’t going anywhere – not with a 109-49-15 career record, 2.44 goals-against average and .922 save percentage. What he’s going through right now is a blip, and as Laviolette said after Tuesday’s loss, “There's ups and downs to teams, and power plays, and penalty kills, and players. And everything's a little bit cyclical.’’
Shesterkin is always hard on himself, and he admitted at the start of this year’s training camp that he was too hard on himself at times last season. He promised he would be better about that this season, but with a 10-7 record, 3.02 GAA and .902 save percentage, he hasn’t been able to keep that promise. At practice Wednesday, his body language revealed clear frustration every time a puck got past him and into the net.
“He wants to be the best in the league every night,’’ backup goaltender Jonathan Quick said. “That's what makes him who he is. And … maybe when the numbers aren't exactly where he wants them to be, he'll double down and keeps working.
“We’ve got to, kind of, limit some of those chances [against] and give him the support that he needs. There's no doubt in here about what he's going to do for the rest of the year for this team.’’
With the kind of season Quick, a likely future Hall of Famer, is having (8-0-1, 2.20 GAA, .922 save percentage, two shutouts), it may be worth it for Laviolette and goalie coach Benoit Allaire to consider giving Shesterkin a lighter workload in the coming weeks. Quick could hold the fort for a while and allow Shesterkin an opportunity to work more in practice and rebuild his confidence.
Laviolette seemed open to the possibility of playing Quick more than he has.
“There's a tremendous amount of confidence in both goalies, and so that's a really good situation for our organization,’’ the coach said. “But, just based on the schedule, I think you'll see both goaltenders get time.’’
Notes & quotes: Artemi Panarin got a call from his grandfather back in Russia, congratulating him on getting his 700th point in Tuesday’s game. “That’s a great feeling,’’ Panarin said. “It would have been great if we won that game.’’ Panarin said 700 means a lot to him, but he hopes to get many more points before his career is over. He currently has 39 (16 goals, 23 assists) in 27 games … Wingers Chris Kreider and Blake Wheeler missed practice due to “maintenance,’’ the Rangers said. D K’Andre Miller was out due to personal reasons.
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.
