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.