The New York Rangers soap opera now is in full swing. Here's the title:
Is The Love Affair With Igor Shesterkin Over -- Or Are We Still Ga-Ga Over Iggie?
The next chapter unfolds tomorrow night at The Garden when a suddenly -- and surprisingly -- hot Calgary Flames come to Seventh Avenue.
Don't laugh; the Albertans just burned the Islanders in Elmont after their defenseman, MacKenzie Weegar acted like Adam Fox and scored a hat trick.
But enough of Calgary; let's get on with the soap opera, which includes "The Other Person," Jonathan (Very) Quick.
Having completed his Doctorate In Goaltending Studies after a week with Professor of Pucks Benny Allaire, Shesterkin showed what he learned by beating the Blackhawks on Friday night.
Which was not one heckuva lot. He escaped with an overtime victory and a "good" appraisal from the kind coach Peter Laviolette.
But since the Chicago Blackhawks are a reasonable facsimile of a good AHL club, Shesty's "test" was nothing more than an evening of rust removal; no more, no less.
The real "test" will be Chapter Two of the soap opera: Does Lavvy's one-game romance with Iggie extend to another shot; this time against the furiously-fair Flames?
Or does he go with his No. 1 goalie, Quickie, because Jumpin' Jon is the better stopper and wins most of his games?
The Maven insists that he should go with his winning goalie, Quick, because that's the right, winning thing to do.
But we're dealing with a real, sensitive romance here, and since that is the case, The Maven declares that Iggie should start against the Flames.
Absolutely and positively; and here's why:
It's all about romance, and Lavvy can't afford to let his former Vezina Trophy winner think he's being cast aside like a forlorn Juliet.
If Igor is benched on Monday, he may get the feeling that the dear, sweet coach doesn't love him anymore. By not playing him on Monday, Lavvy could rattle his confidence.
That's especially relevant since Igor did not -- shall we say -- look great in Chicago.
Coach has to play him to see if Shesty really has the goods and to show that -- even though he's a low man on the Blueshirts (goalie) totem pole -- he's still beloved by Lavvy.
Plus, if Shesterkin actually beats the Flames, even The Maven will adore him again.
But wait a minute; we still don't know who Peter The Puckmeister is going to start on Monday night, so tune in again, folks, for a very good reason:
This is -- after all -- such a wonderful, sizzling Rangers soap opera!