I don't like to post when I revisit a venue, unless there is something of note. That was the case in Hartford on Saturday night, when I saw the Wolf Pack hosting the Providence Bruins at the XL Center, in a battle of the top two teams in the AHL's Atlantic Division.
The starting goalie for Hartford, which is the Rangers affiliate, was Igor Shesterkin (below). He is making news in NYC for his exploits that are forcing the Rangers to think about their goaltending situation. Henrik Lundqvist is nearing the end of his illustrious career, while backup Alexandar Georgiev has compiled solid stats despite a couple of recent losses. I was interested to see if Shesterkin would live up to his billing.
Well, that he did. I was sitting near the net that Shesterkin was protecting in the first period and although the game was rather sluggish, he did come up with a couple of impressive saves. In the second, a stretch pass from Shesterkin led to the first goal of the game for Phil DiGiuseppe, with Shesterkin getting the secondary assist. In the third, the Bruins dominated and had several chances to tie, but Shesterkin came up with at least 3 spectacular saves, including one on a breakaway where he displayed a quick glove. After Vitali Kravstov (9th overall in 2018) scored his first AHL goal to make it 2-0 and an empty netter was added, the Bruins continued to try to break the shutout, with Shesterkin equal to all but one. In the final minute, the Bruins were all around the net but Shesterkin continued to make save after save. A rebound ended up on the stick of Ryan Fitzgerald (4th round, 2013) with Shesterkin out of position, but Joey Keane (3rd, 2018) managed to stop Fitzgerald's shot with his skates to preserve the shutout. It was an exciting finish to what was otherwise a pedestrian affair.
The win allowed Hartford to tie Providence at the top of the division. Shesterkin was the first star with his second straight home shutout. He is third in the league with a 2.03 GAA. It was only one game I saw, but I can't imagine him spending the entire year in Hartford, so look for the Rangers to deal either Lundqvist to a contender for his final couple of years, or Georgiev to a team in the Western Conference.
Update: Shesterkin was called up in early 2020 and won his first two NHL starts, 5-3 over Colorado (where he gave up 2 early goals) and 6-3 over New Jersey, where he stopped 46 of 49 shots. The Rangers will be dealing Georgiev shortly. Update: they let King Henrik walk to Washington instead.
Notes
Interestingly, Shesterkin's name when he played in the KHL was spelled Shestyorkin. So he should stay with the Rangers.
The highlights are poor quality but worth watching to see that final flurry.
Best,
Sean
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