New York Rangers goaltender Igor Shesterkin is cementing his legacy through these playoffs. The Rangers are two games away from a trip to the Stanley Cup Final and Shesterkin is a major reason why they are at this point. Stan Fischler On Rangers Cup Chances Through practically every single game of the Rangers’ second and third round series thus far, they have been outshot while it’s a common trend that their opponent holds more offensive zone time. However, the phenomenal play of Shesterkin continues to be New York’s driving force, leading to victory after victory. That was especially evident in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Final. With the game tied at 4-4 in the third period, the Panthers put on an onslaught of shots that any normal goalie would have given up at least one goal, but not Shesterkin. He made countless miraculous saves through this short span and allowed the Rangers to escape into overtime where Alex Wennberg scored the game-winning goal to give New York a 2-1 series lead. “[Shesterkin] was our best player tonight,” Vincent Trocheck said. [https://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/40225251/igor-shesterkin-shines-rangers-edge-panthers-over] "When you have a guy back there like that, you have a lot of confidence in him. He stole this game late.” In the playoffs, goaltending is arguably the most important position. It’s nearly impossible to make a deep playoff run without a hot goalie. When a goaltender is playing well, it breathes confidence into the entire team and that’s exactly what Shesterkin has been able to do for the Rangers. “You need a goalie to help out and he does it more than once or twice,” Alex Wennberg said. “It’s a good feeling to have that goalie to have those saves and make a difference.” The 28-year-old superstar is showing flashes of the great Henrik Lundqvist who Ranger fans proclaimed as ‘King Lundqvist.’ With a Vezina Trophy already in his back pocket and an unmatched resume through just three years as New York’s starting goaltender, Shesterkin has the potential to be bigger and better than Lundqvist ever was, and that’s a difficult thing to do. Shesterkin is stealing games for the Rangers, something that only stars of his level are even capable of doing. Over these playoffs, Shesterkin is proving that he is not just great, but he is the best goaltender in the world. If the Rangers are able to capture the Stanley Cup with Shesterkin at the helm, he will be revered as one of the best Ranger players to ever live.
