Igor Shesterkin Rangers
Danny Wild-USA TODAY Sports

The Rangers’ netminder was almost perfect last week.

The New York Rangers have been truly blessed in net. They spent a decade with Henrik Lundqvist between the pipes, and moved on to Igor Shesterkin.

From one all-time great to a star in his own right. Life is good.

And on Monday, Shesterkin received league-wide recognition forT his tremendous play last week.

The NHL named Shesterkin the league’s No. 3 Star of the Week on Monday after he posted a 3-0-0 record with a .955 save percentage.

Here’s what the league had to say in the release:

Shesterkin stopped 106 of the 111 shots he faced, going 3-0-0 with a 1.67 goals-against average and .955 save percentage to propel the Rangers (36-15-5, 77 points) to a perfect week and into second place in the Metropolitan Division. He made 29 saves, including 13 in the third period, in a 5-3 victory over the St. Louis Blues March 2. Shesterkin then yielded only one goal in each of his next two starts, turning aside 32 shots in a 3-1 win against the New Jersey Devils March 4 and denying 45 attempts (his 10th career 40-save performance) in a 4-1 triumph over the Winnipeg Jets March 6. The 26-year-old Moscow, Russia, native has appeared in 37 total games this season, leading the NHL in goals-against average (1.93) and save percentage (.942) while also ranking among the top performers in wins (t-3rd; 28) and shutouts (t-6th; 3).

The Rangers enter Monday tied with Pittsburgh for second place in the Metropolitan Division (the Penguins have one game in-hand), six points back of the Carolina Hurricanes. They’re 7-2-1 in their last 10 games, largely because of the exceptional play they’ve received from Shesterkin.

Tab has written about MLB, the NHL and the NFL for more than a decade for publications including The Fourth Period, Bleacher Report and La Vida Baseball. He is the author of two books about the Chicago Blackhawks and has been credentialed for the MLB All-Star Game and postseason and multiple Stanley Cup Finals. He is the co-host of the Line Drive Radio podcast.