Igor Shesterkin has come to play through the Eastern Conference Final, but the rest of the Rangers haven't been there enough to help him out.
Igor Shesterkin has come to play through the Eastern Conference Final, but the rest of the Rangers haven't been there enough to help him out.
Igor Shesterkin has been playing his heart out through the Eastern Conference Final, but the New York Rangers haven't been giving him that same courtesy.
The Rangers are on the brink of elimination despite the incredible heroics of Shesterkin.
Through the first five games of this series, the Florida Panthers have dominated time of possession and continue to pour an onslaught of shots on Shesterkin.
Time and time again the 28-year-old goaltender has stood on his head, making remarkable saves to help keep the Rangers in striking distance in every game.
The Rangers are playing with fire by relying on Shesterkin to bail them out, and it’s now finally starting to bite them in the back.
Shesterkin is out there being forced to make acrobatic saves while the Rangers are failing to generate offense and even at times struggling to cleanly get the puck in Florida’s defensive zone.
For most teams, the play that Shesterkin is providing would have been enough to win a series, but the Rangers are getting outperformed in essentially every category except for goaltending.
It’s simply unfair to put all of this pressure on one player’s shoulders and it’s a major reason why the Rangers find themselves one game away from being eliminated.
Obviously Shesterkin needs to be at the top of his game on Saturday night. However, the Rangers are going to need more than just Shesterkin if they want to come back to Madison Square Garden for Game 7.
It’s going to take a full group effort, which is something we haven't really seen through the Eastern Conference Final from New York.
The Rangers must play their best hockey in Game 6 and finally take some pressure off of their poor goaltender.