WASHINGTON — At first glance, and even on replay, it looked like Igor Shesterkin simply whiffed on John Carlson’s punch puck in the first period.
The New York Rangers star goaltender certainly thought so, calling it a “really weird shot.”
“It goes up and down. Sometimes that happens,” said Shesterkin, still perplexed after a 3-1 win in which he once again became the Rangers’ usual backbone to help them take a 3-0 series lead against the Capitals from Washington, Friday evening.
But, alas, Mika Zibanejad raised his hand after the game to offer up Carlson’s shot that looked so great because it actually clipped his stick.
Maybe it was. Or maybe Zibanejad was a great teammate.
JOHN CARLSON WITH A DREAM START FOR HOME CAPS 🦅 pic.twitter.com/e4vxTyrZJB
– B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) April 26, 2024
Either way, it doesn’t matter – and doesn’t matter. No one on the Rangers bench doubted that Shesterkin would bounce back, and as he did throughout the stellar stretch of his post-All-Star Game season, he certainly did so in a 28-save effort .
Shesterkin responded to every Caps push, especially in the third period when the Rangers went into prevention mode and were outscored 13-5, including 11-2 at one point.
The Rangers marched to the penalty box three times in the first period and six times in the game, but the Rangers were a perfect 6-for-6 on the PK thanks to eight saves from Shesterkin and Barclay Goodrow’s game-winning short yardage in the first period. – freehand goal.
“Shesty was spectacular again,” said Vincent Trocheck, who continued his phenomenal streak by assisting on Goodrow’s goal and scoring on the power play.
Against 38 unblocked shot attempts, Shesterkin saved 2.59 goals above expectations. It was the second-best performance by a goaltender in the playoffs so far after Jeremy Swayman’s 3.49 performance in Boston’s Game 1 win over the Maple Leafs.
Shorthanded, as good as the Rangers were at pressuring and scoring shorthanded, they were fueled by Shesterkin. Washington had 13 unblocked shots on the power play and Shesterkin saved 1.71 goals above expectations.
Shesterkin is 2.88 goals saved above expectations through three playoff games after a regular season in which he recorded 18.4 goals saved above expectations overall, which ranks him 10th overall. the league.
“He’s been there for us all year and the years before,” Zibanejad said. “We know what kind of goalie he is, but just seeing him play like he did tonight was huge for us, and especially in the moments where they have a pullback and a push. I think that’s something that we’ve obviously been extremely fortunate with all year.
After one of the worst months of any goaltender in the league, allowing 8.82 goals above expectations with an .863 save percentage in January, Shesterkin bounced back after the All-Star Game with a save percentage of .929 saves and 17.1 goals saved above expectations in 23 games. . There have been periods since early February where the Rangers started allowing more running chances and their five-on-five numbers dipped, but Shesterkin has always been the difference maker.
Remember, even though the Rangers blew a 2-0 lead against New Jersey last spring, Shesterkin was fantastic in seven games with 9.79 goals saved above expectations plus 22.6 in 20 playoff games from 2021-2022.
He shines in the playoffs – plain and simple – even if he has had less success on the road.
Shesterkin entered Friday’s game with a 4-8-1 all-time record in 14 road games with a 2.88 goals-against average and .914 save percentage. In 2022, he was scratched in his first two road playoff games against the Penguins.
But he didn’t give Washington a chance in Game 3.
In the first period, he perfectly read a one-timer from Alex Ovechkin on the power play and committed a steal. He did the same with Tom Wilson on his doorstep in the third.
But nothing compares to his post-to-post split and his slide to his right to rob Max Pacioretty with his right pad.
“I was lucky,” Shesterkin said. “I saw an empty right pole and I’m going to the right.”
Rangers coach Peter Laviolette went to give Shesterkin a boost throughout the game, but he couldn’t get out of his mind that, especially at five-on-five, Shesterkin didn’t faces a lot of volume of shots.
“There weren’t many chances, but there were a few. big chances,” Laviolette said. “The ones that go through the crease and happen really quickly – there was one on the power play, I think, with Tom Wilson in the third, in the second period there was a backdoor play, it had to be very precise and you could tell it was on point.
“He saw everything that was happening and he came there to play. It wasn’t volume, but there were a few big ones. »
As Trocheck added: “We need him to be the backbone of this team, and he’s been doing that for years now.”
Shesterkin said it was “not a good start for me.”
He wasn’t happy with Carlson’s goal and wasn’t about to find comfort in Zibanejad’s assertion that the puck nicked his stick.
“But a few more shots build confidence, and so I find my game,” he said. “I just forgot about it (Carlson’s goal) and focused on the next shot. We are playing very well, but we have to win one more game and we are focusing on the next one.
Teams that take a 3-0 lead in a best-of-seven playoff series have won it 98.1 percent of the time (202-4). Rangers own 5-0 all-time record as they lead 3-0 in best-of-seven series.
The Caps are struggling, especially with Shesterkin showing no signs of cracking.
“We know exactly what we need to do there, how they’re going to play, we have looks, but we still can’t get the puck in,” said Ovechkin, who has no points and four shots in the series.
—Shayna Goldman contributed to this story. All data courtesy of Evolving Hockey.
(Top photo: Tom Brenner / Associated Press)