K’Andre Miller leaned forward in his chair, all his weight on his elbows. There was something between irritation and gratitude on his face.
“I mean,” he said, “I can’t imagine people saying good things about Igor saving us at this time of year.”
For most of Friday night, it looked like Game 2 against Lightning didn’t have to be one of those Rangers nights. They controlled the game. Mika Zibanedjad’s insurance gave them two goals at the beginning of the third period. They were on their way to a two-match lead to none in the Eastern Conference final.
Nick Paul then scored 2:02 to enter the third and the same old story unfolded again. The Rangers asked Igor Shesterkin to go and win their match. And Shesterkin delivered.
He stopped Stephen Stamkos firmly with the rescue, which almost no one does, but now everyone expects Shesterkin to do. Zibanejad cleared the puck. Rangers held on to win 3-2.
Miller, who scored the winning goal, then tried to come up with something original for the goalkeeper after his 46th win of the year. In Shesterkin’s case, most of his victories belong to a large extent, and with 29 saves, this one too.
Igor Shesterkin saved during the victory of Game 2 of the Ranges over Lightning. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post
“It’s unreal,” Miller said. “You see him in every game, he has a number of saves with accents. Obviously we trust him a lot and let him do his thing. We are obviously trying to limit the chances he sees by blocking blows and doing these little things.
“But Sixth is Sixth. He will stop the puck if he sees it. ”
Two games in a series that was declared a duel between the two best goalkeepers in the world, Shesterkin has two wins over Andrei Vassilevsky, who conceded six goals in Match 1 on Wednesday night and again looked unstable on Friday.
Rangers seem to have come up with something with Vassilevsky: his vulnerability is to the country with the high blocker. Besides, Vassilevsky had moments on Friday when he was trying to keep the puck; Corey Perry had to clear one of the lines after passing through Vassilevsky’s feet.
Igor Shesterkin wears Rangers throughout the season. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post
Such problems have not affected Shesterkin – at least not since he was eliminated in match 4 of the first round against the Penguins. Prior to this series, he called Vassilevsky the best goalkeeper on the planet, and although he is doing something else, he has no interest in changing that view.
“At the moment, I don’t think that really matters,” Shesterkin said through an interpreter. “I still think that everything was as I said before. Andrei is still the best goalkeeper in the world and you can’t forget that the series is like that [first] up to four wins, so you have to keep playing. ”
Even if his acceptance does not change, his play is an argument that words cannot. And he’s two wins since putting it in ink.
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