Shesterkin 'key' to getting Rangers back in series with Game 3 win
Makes 43 saves against Hurricanes for first victory in Eastern Second Round
It was 18,006 in full throat at Madison Square Garden showing their appreciation for Igor Shesterkin, the New York Rangers goalie who was the best player on the ice for either team in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Second Round.
When that happens, the Rangers rarely lose. They didn't Sunday.
Shesterkin put together a 43-save masterpiece for a 3-1 win against the Carolina Hurricanes.
RELATED: [Complete Hurricanes vs. Rangers series coverage]
Carolina still leads the best-of-7 series 2-1, but the Rangers are in it now because their goalie was worthy of the admiration.
"Igor was outstanding for us and that was the key," Rangers coach Gerard Gallant said. "He's the key for our group."
He had to be in Game 3. It was wide open compared to Games 1 and 2 in Raleigh, defensive battles that featured a combined five goals and 97 shots on goal. Shesterkin was good in those games, allowing three goals on 47 shots total, but the Rangers scored once and lost both.
They doubled their offense within the first 25:55 of Game 3, getting a power-play goal from Mika Zibanejad to make it 1-0 at 11:54 of the first period and a goal from Chris Kreider to go up 2-0 at 5:55 of the second.
But Shesterkin was the difference because he under siege from the start of the game.
"The first half of the game we were too loose, we gave them too many chances to score," Gallant said.
Shesterkin faced 17 shots in the first period and stopped them all, none more stylishly than when he darted out of his net for a pokecheck on Hurricanes forward Jesperi Kotkaniemi as he was coming in alone on the goalie.
The puck ended up under Shesterkin and frozen at 13:04. Kotkaniemi appeared surprised and looked up to the rafters in disbelief.
He wasn't the only Hurricanes player to do it.
"It felt good the way we were going," Carolina coach Rod Brind'Amour said. "But we just couldn't put the puck in the net."
Shesterkin faced 18 shots in the second period; he was beaten only by Nino Niederreiter's light backhand from the right circle at 8:18.
It was almost shocking to the puck go in because of how focused Shesterkin appeared to be.
He knew it too.
"I gave up a goal and let down the team," Shesterkin said. "Had to fix the mistake that I made."
Shesterkin responded in a way that would be expected from the goalie who is a finalist for both the Hart Trophy, given to the NHL's most valuable player in the regular season, and the Vezina Trophy, which goes to the League's best goalie.
He stopped Andrei Svechnikov on a wraparound with a right toe save at the left post at 10:20 and then came back across from his left to right to stop Vincent Trocheck's one-timer six seconds later.
He followed the puck well and gloved Teuvo Teravainen's deflection of Tony DeAngelo's wrist shot from the point at 11:37.
"When you miss a goal you get a little disappointed for a second, you say a few mean words and you forget about it," Shesterkin said.
Carolina started the third period with 94 seconds left on a power play that carried over from the second. Shesterkin stopped all four shots he faced on that power play, giving him 38 saves with more than 18 minutes to play.
Shesterkin's 39th save was a throwback to Henrik Lundqvist, the former Rangers goalie who was in the building watching the goalie that took his net two years ago own the moment.
Shesterkin used his mask to head Jordan Staal's shot out of harm's way at 2:46 of the third. Lundqvist used to do stuff like that all the time.
"It's something we've talked a lot about, how much confidence he instills in us, especially when he's making hard saves look easy," Kreider said.
Lundqvist also used to author performances in the playoffs that turned him into a legend in New York, saves that made the fans chant his name.
"HEN-reek, HEN-reek, HEN-reek."
Now it's "EEE-gor, EEE-gor, EEE-gor" and it feels the same.
"Exactly what we expected," Gallant said.
Shesterkin needs to do it again Tuesday, when the Rangers and Hurricanes play Game 4.
If he's the best player on the ice, the Rangers will probably win.
"He's been doing it all season," forward Filip Chytil said. "We know what he's capable of. He's one of the best goalies in the game and we just trust every second he's in the net. We just trust him and he's doing what he can do. He's unbelievable."
