Rangers Set To Lean On Igor Shesterkin More With Playoff Aspirations In Jeopardy

There are 15 games remaining this season and the New York Rangers are fighting desperately to make the playoffs.

Throughout the year, Peter Laviolette has been careful not to overwork Igor Shesterkin as he’s made sure to give his star goalie the necessary rest he’s needed.

Shesterkin hasn’t played in back-to-back games since Feb. 25-26, 2023. However, that will change on Sunday night.

The 29-year-old goalie recorded a 21-save shutout on Saturday night against the Columbus Blue Jackets and will start against the Edmonton Oilers on Sunday night.

The Rangers hold the second wild-card spot by one point and every game holds incredible magnitude at this point in time.

Laviolette explained his reasoning behind his unorthodox move to start Shesterkin in back-to-back games, confirming that given the current circumstances, he’ll have to change his goaltending strategy.

“Obviously we are coming down to it. We are in the middle of a race. I think that always factors into it. We have a lot of confidence in both of our goaltenders. Just the situation that we are in right now, we made the decision to go back to Shesty.

“It wasn’t a real heavy night for him last night, not a lot of activity of work. He’s played really well in his last couple of starts, so we made the decision to go with him.”

Shesterkin has started 49 games for the Rangers this season while Jonathan Quick has started 17 games.

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