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Rangers Week Ahead: Getting used to life without Igor Shesterkin
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- Rangers Week Ahead: Getting used to life without Igor Shesterkin
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The New York Rangers begin the new week with a perfect 4-0-0 record at home and five wins in their first seven games. But building on their fast start won't be easy without star goaltender Igor Shesterkin.
The League's highest-paid goalie went down with a season-ending lower-body injury Friday night in a 3-1 road loss to the Washington Capitals after he tried to get back to the right post but crashed into it with his leg and foot. The Rangers haven't revealed any details, but they did put him on long-term injured reserve hours before whipping the lowly Vancouver Canucks 6-2 at Madison Square Garden on Sunday.
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Dylan Garand made 19 saves against Vancouver, and coach Mike Sullivan said the 24-year-old rookie will carry the load for now. Veteran backup Joonas Korpisalo also has a lower-body injury and was placed on injured reserve last week; the Rangers said Saturday that he'll miss at least another four weeks. So it's Garand's net, with NHL journeyman Spencer Martin as his backup.
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Sullivan is confident that his players won't let the loss of their most important player affect their play.
"I think there's a maturity to this group," he said after the win . "I think these guys — they haven't lost any level of enthusiasm. I think they believe in the team game that we're trying to build here.
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"We got dealt tough news with 'Shesty,' and everybody feels that, without a doubt. We feel for Shesty, first and foremost, because we know how much he cares about playing and loves to play and being part of the team and all of those things. And then he happens to be arguably our very best player, so that's a tough blow to the group. But once again, you can only control the things that are within your power, and our players are well aware of that. We had that discussion, and I think there's a maturity to this group."
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Tye Kartye and Will Cuylle each scored twice against the Canucks. Garand looked solid and is now 2-1-0 with a 1.20 goals-against average and .945 save percentage in three appearances this season (he took the loss in Washington despite allowing just one goal after relieving Shesterkin 8:20 into the second period). That level of play isn't sustainable over a full season, but it gives the Rangers hope that Garand can keep them in the race to end their two-year playoff drought.
"I think it's just a ton of buy-in from our group," Garand said Sunday . "There's different ways you can approach it; you can lose games in the third period, and you can win games, and I think right now we're focused on winning games. That's been huge for us."
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Garand went from being waived (and unclaimed) to the No. 1 goaltender on an Original Six team in less than two weeks. The Rangers can only hope he's up to the task.
"It's obviously tough when you lose your best player in Shesty, a guy who plays so well for this team for so long and is such a big part of it," he said. "It's tough. It's a blow to the group for sure. But it happens sometimes. It's pro sports, players get injured. I think the guys did a great job of stepping up tonight and we're going to need more of that, for sure."
Who's Hot?
Alexis Lafreniere celebrated his 25th birthday on Sunday with a goal and an assist against Vancouver, and one day later was named the NHL's Third Star of the Week. He scored five goals and added two assists in three games, including a hat trick in a 5-2 win against the New York Islanders on Tuesday. Lafreniere has a three-game goal streak, a four-game point streak and leads the Rangers in goals (5) and points (8).
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Who's Not?
Jaroslav Chmelar is averaging 8:11 of ice time in his six games this season. He has yet to put up a point and is the only minus player on the team (minus-1). However, Sullivan said recently that the fourth-line wing continues ti earn his spot in the lineup, leaving Matt Rempe on the outside looking in as the 13th forward on the roster.
Rangers lookahead this week includes …
The first multiple-game road trip after opening the season with five of their first seven games at home.
Tampa Bay Lightning at Rangers (Oct. 13, 7:15 p.m.; MSG)
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This is one of two days on the NHL schedule when all 32 teams play, with starting times staggered from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. ET. It's also the second time in the season's first two weeks that the Lightning come to the Garden.
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Tampa Bay's return visit should be a good test for Garand and his teammates. The Lightning haven't lost since that first visit, a 5-1 Rangers victory in their home opener on Oct. 1 that included Shesterkin becoming the first goalie in Rangers' history to score a goal. The Bolts have been off since Saturday, when they used a hat trick by Brandon Hagel to defeat the Islanders 5-3 at UBS Arena.
The Rangers are one of the few teams to have success against future Hall of Fame goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy. They scored four times against him in the Lightning's previous visit, and he's 7-10-2 with a 3.00 goals-against average and .900 save percentage in 19 regular-season games against New York.
Mika Zibanejad (14 goals, 31 points in 40 games) and Adam Fox (one goal, 14 points in 17 games) have fared well against the Lightning. Nikita Kuchreov scored the only Tampa Bay goal on Oct. 1 and has 11 goals and 41 points in 34 games against New York.
Rangers at New Jersey Devils (Oct. 15, 7 p.m.; MSG)
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The local rivals meet for the first time this season when the Rangers visit Prudential Center to play the up-and-down Devils. New Jersey split its first four games but is coming off a 4-1 win at home against the Canucks on Saturday.
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The Devils dominated the Rangers the past two seasons, winning five of seven games. That includes a 3-1-0 record last season, although the Rangers won 4-1 at the Garden on March 31 – a game that's most notable for the goalie fight between Shesterkin and New Jersey's Jacob Markstrom (now with the Florida Panthers).
Few opposing players in the past decade wreaked more havoc on the Blueshirts than New Jersey's Jack Hughes . The No. 1 overall pick in the 2019 NHL Draft has 20 goals and 35 points in 26 games against the Rangers – his best career numbers against any opponent in both categories. That includes four goals and seven points in three meetings last season.
Fox had two assists in the March 31 win, giving him five goals and 21 assists for 26 points in 30 regular-season games against New Jersey.
Rangers at Columbus Blue Jackets (Oct. 17, 7 p.m.; MSG)
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This is the first of four games between the Metropolitan Division rivals this season. The Rangers won just one of three last season – and they needed a shootout to earn a 2-1 victory at Nationwide Arena last Nov. 15. New York is 5-2-1 in its past eight games against Columbus.
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The Blue Jackets split their first four games this season and come into this one off a three-day break after hosting the Florida Panthers on Tuesday. That means the Rangers are likely to face second-year goaltender Jet Greaves, who was 1-0-1 against New York last season and allowed just four goals in two starts.
Reigning Norris Trophy winner Zach Werenski had three assists in the most recent meeting, a 6-3 Columbus victory on March 19, and has 19 assists and 22 points in 28 career games against New York. Fox, the 2021 Norris winner, is a point-a-game player against Columbus – 19 points (one goal, 18 assists) in 19 games.
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