A half hour before the scheduled puck drop for Game 1 of the Rangers’ best-of-five play-in series against the Carolina Hurricanes, MSG television dropped a bombshell when the network announced on its pregame show that goaltender Igor Shesterkin, the Russian rookie who had been expected to start in goal for the Blueshirts, is “unfit to play,’’ meaning 38-year-old Henrik Lundqvist would get the assignment for Game 1 of the series, in Toronto.
Shesterkin, 24, had taken over as the Rangers’ No. 1 goaltender, having gone 10-2, with a 2.52 goals against average and .932 save percentage in 12 games after being called up from the minor leagues in early January.