Faith in Igor still strong
Igor Shesterkin officially is a first-time finalist — and still the presumptive frontrunner — for the Vezina Trophy as the NHL’s top goaltender this season.
After Shesterkin was yanked in two consecutive playoff losses, however, the Rangers suddenly need their breakout netminder to rediscover his regular-season magic to help them avoid elimination in Game 5 against the Penguins on Wednesday night at the Garden.
The 26-year-old Russian was pulled by head coach Gerard Gallant after allowing six goals on 30 shots through two periods in a team-wide disaster that ended in a 7-2 Game 4 loss in Pittsburgh. Shesterkin also lasted just 20 minutes (four goals) before Alexandar Georgiev relieved him in Game 3.
“That’s strictly on us letting him down. I mean, I don’t know how he would have stopped most of those goals,” defenseman Adam Fox said after a brief practice Tuesday in Tarrytown. “He stopped a lot of Grade-A [chances], too, they had before they tipped those in.
“So when your goalie gets pulled, that’s usually on the team. It’s nothing on him. He’s been our backbone all year, we have nothing but confidence in him. Obviously, we know what he’s capable of and we definitely gotta help him out a little more.”
Shesterkin was not made available to the media by the Rangers after the game Monday or following practice Tuesday, when he spent time working on stopping deflections with goalie coach Benoit Allaire after allowing three tip-in goals in Game 4.
Immediately after the game Monday, Gallant insisted he will stick with his starter, calling him “the best goalie in the league.”
Shesterkin, who posted a 36-13-4 record over 54 appearances while leading the league in goals-against average (2.07) and save percentage (.935), was named Tuesday as a Vezina finalist alongside Calgary’s Jacob Markstrom and Nashville’s Juuse Saros.
“I didn’t see that yet, but that’s awesome. I think we all knew that was going to happen with the year he had, so it’s awesome,” Gallant said Tuesday. “It’s outstanding for him, and we’re real happy for him, obviously. He had an outstanding year and I fully expect him to win it.”
Fox, the reigning Norris Trophy winner as the league’s best defenseman, fully expects his teammate to become the Rangers’ first Vezina winner since Henrik Lundqvist received the award in 2012.
“I think he’ll for sure be the winner of it,” Fox said. “But we’ve seen it all year. We’ve talked about it all year. He kept us in games early in the year that we weren’t supposed to win.
“You get a lot more confidence when he’s in the net that if a mistake happens, he’ll have your back. Obviously, we’ve gotta have his back a little more now in these next few games. But I can’t say enough about the year he’s had.”