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Rangers’ Igor Shesterkin gets ‘elite’ tag from Jim Montgomery
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- Rangers’ Igor Shesterkin gets ‘elite’ tag from Jim Montgomery
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The New York Rangers defeated the St. Louis Blues 2-1 in overtime on Thursday night, and goalie Igor Shesterkin put together a solid performance that included 26 saves.
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Blues head coach Jim Montgomery complimented Shesterkin's play after the game, despite his team failing to generate more than one goal.
"Shesterkin's an elite goaltender in this league. …," Shesterkin told Peter Baugh of The Athletic. "He showed that tonight."
Through 28 games this season, Shesterkin has gone 14-11-3 while posting a .910 SV%. The 29-year-old has been one of the best goaltenders in the league since winning the Vezina Trophy in 2022, and his latest showing against the Blues served as a reminder of what he could do at his best.
New York also benefited from the play of captain J.T. Miller , who scored the game-winner in overtime.
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"It was a great shot," Rangers head coach Mike Sullivan told Mollie Walker of the New York Post. "I think he's got a heavy shot. It was a great screen by [ Vladislav Gavrikov ]. Vladi goes to the net. It was a good play all around. Just the possession game. You got to be selective when you shoot. Overtime, for me, is all about possession. It's out-changing teams and being selective, and when the opportunity presents itself to try to score, I thought those guys, they were patient when they needed to be. … I had a conversation with [Miller] this morning and tried to encourage him to shoot the puck a little bit more. I think sometimes he passes up the opportunity to shoot it, and I think he has a heavy shot.
"He's one of the few guys we have on our team that I think can beat goaltenders clean with a clear-sighted shot. That's how heavy I think his shot is. That was a great example of it."
The Rangers own 38 points and are now 17-15-4 on the season. They will host the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday.
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