Shesterkin in top form, Rangers set for deep run in Stanley Cup Playoffs

GREENBURGH, N.Y. --Igor Shesterkin stared straight ahead, talked with a low voice and with few words, some audible, some not. He didn't laugh as he usually does when he does an interview in English. He didn't smile. There was no self-deprecation, no joking around.

This was Saturday morning after a near hourlong practice at the New York Rangers training facility. Puck drop for Game 1 of the Eastern Conference First Round against the New Jersey Devils at Prudential Center on Tuesday (7 p.m. ET; TBS, SN360, TVAS2) was still 3 1/2 days away, and already the goalie looked like he was in the zone.
"You can see the focus between his eyes," defenseman K'Andre Miller said. "He brings that intensity to the rink. That's everything. That's what you want to see from your starting goalie.
"Quite frankly, it's scary. When he gets in this mode, in this zone, he's the best goalie in the world. His ability is amazing and this last month or so he's ramped it up even more, which seems hard to do, but he's special."
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The Rangers have been good in front of Shesterkin for a while now, but most important for their chances to go on another long run in the Stanley Cup Playoffs is in the past seven weeks the goalie has been great behind them.
Shesterkin enters the playoffs on top of his game, playing the best he has all season. He started 16 of the Rangers' last 23 games and went 12-3-1 with a 1.98 goals-against average, .934 save percentage and two shutouts.
Shesterkin in these seven weeks has looked like he did last season, when he won the Vezina Trophy as the NHL's best goalie and finished third in the voting for the Hart Trophy as the most valuable player, going 36-13-4 with a 2.07 GAA, .935 save percentage and six shutouts.
He followed his regular season last year with a strong postseason, going 10-9 with a 2.59 GAA and .929 save percentage to help get the Rangers all the way to Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Final before they bow out against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Shesterkin and the Rangers feel they can do more this season.
"In the beginning of the season I played not bad," Shesterkin said. "In the middle of the season I jumped down, and then I tried to find my game. I think I found it and hopefully it'll keep going."
Shesterkin knows his game well, clearly, because his self-analysis is spot on.
He was 9-2-3 with a 2.34 GAA and .917 save percentage in 14 starts through Nov. 19. He was solid, but the Rangers were struggling around him.
Then came a rough patch.
He gave up 15 goals in four starts from Nov. 26-Dec. 5, throwing himself on the sword after a 5-3 loss to the Devils at Madison Square Garden on Nov. 28.
"Goalie played [lousy] game again," Shesterkin said that night. "I feel so bad and play so bad. I'm ashamed."
Shesterkin wasn't asked to relive that moment, but in the big picture he was asked what happened.
"I just lose myself," he said.
Then there were the four goals he allowed in the first two periods against the St. Louis Blues at the Garden on Dec. 5. The Rangers came back in the third period to save him, securing a 6-4 win that might have been the biggest turning point of their season.
The goalie got hot from there. And it's not surprising New York did too.
He went 10-4-3 with a 2.22 GAA and .926 save percentage from Dec. 7 through the NHL All-Star break.
"I don't think it's any surprise that his game ramped up and so did our win totals and point totals," forward Jimmy Vesey said. "We're spoiled here."
But Shesterkin came out of the break struggling. He was 4-2-0 in his first six starts, but that was with a 4.00 GAA and .852 save percentage.
The Rangers were also making changes at the time, adding forward Vladimir Tarasenko and defenseman Niko Mikkola from the St. Louis Blues, and forward Tyler Motte from the Ottawa Senators. They were preparing to add forward Patrick Kane from the Chicago Blackhawks.
They needed better from Shesterkin. He knew it.
"I lose myself, so I just had to relax," he said. "I relaxed my head and just started to do what I need to do. It's like walking, you don't need to think about which leg you need to move."
With Shesterkin reacting instead of thinking, making the saves he's supposed to make and many more that are probably 50-50 for most goalies, the Rangers are riding into the playoffs confident that they can do something great.
He has not allowed more than three goals in 15 of his past 16 starts, including 11 with two or fewer against.
"He's been on a tear lately," defenseman Ryan Lindgren said. "Last year, his numbers were historically good and it's really hard to match that. But it seems like these last two months, or whatever it's been, he's brought his game to a different level and that's obviously a very good thing for us."