Igor Shesterkin zeroes out Calgary’s scorer as Rangers celebrate fifth straight win

In a goal-poor game, where the first goal was not scored until the second half, Rangers goalie Shesterkin gave an outstanding performance, catching all the shots of the opponent and helping the Rangers to their fifth win in a row, this time 2:0.

The first half of the game was scoreless

The teams went into the game with Igor Shesterkin in goal for the Rangers and Jacob Markstrom taking his place in goal for the Flames. During the first period, the Raiders were the more active team in terms of scoring and had two power plays, but none of their 11 shots on goal found their way past Markstrom.

To the delight of the home crowd, the opening goal of the game came in the 33rd minute after Rangers forward Will Cuylle scored his ninth of the season. The Flames were the more active scorers in the second period, but Shesterkin was catching shot after shot and acting as an impenetrable wall.

The outstanding Shesterkin

After 40 minutes of play, the home team went into the locker room with a slim 1:0 lead. In the last 20 minutes, both Shesterkin and Markstrom each captured 10 and 11 shots, respectively, and the Flames goalie was forced to leave the crease late in the game.

And the visitors played a wobbly game, punished by Jimmy Vesey’s empty-net goal with 19 seconds left. He recorded his 1st goal this season. However, the hero of the game was the home goalie Shesterkin, who caught all 30 shots of the opponent.

He earned his first clean sheet of the season and 12th of his career. It is his first clean sheet since April 8, 2023, when he made 20 saves in a 4-0 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets. He contributed significantly to his team’s fifth consecutive victory and his 21st win in 34 games, which ranks him 6th among goaltenders.

In his career so far, he has played 192 regular season games and has a high percentage of game-winning saves, as he has won 120 of them. He is already 11th in the club annals with his 1st clean sheet for the Rangers. He even ranks fourth already with seven pick nil saves, showing at least 30 hits in a game. The record holder in this regard is Sweden’s Henrik Lundqvist with 28 such performances.

With this victory, the Rangers maintain their second position in the Eastern Conference, two points behind the leading Boston Bruins and one point behind the dangerous Florida Panthers. Either way, the Rangers can take comfort in the fact that they already have a 15 point lead on the ninth team in the conference, the New Jersey Devils.

Source: NHL