Igor Shesterkin was pretty darn good in the New York Rangers’ 3-2 overtime win against the New York Islanders on Monday.
Yes, it’s the preseason. No, it’s not too early to get excited about the No. 1 Rangers goalie.
Shesterkin stopped 21 of 22 shots over 40 minutes against the Islanders, before handing a 2-1 lead over to rookie Dylan Garand to start the third period. You’ve seen this script before — the Rangers were badly out-shot (22-11) and out-chanced (18-9), but Shesterkin was the best player out there, so they nursed a one-goal lead.
The Islanders had nearly a 70 percent expected goal share the first two periods, per Natural Stat Trick, but trailed by a goal because of Shesterkin’s difference-making play between the pipes.