Igor Shesterkin’s nightly brilliance now comes with a nagging Rangers question
NY Post
Throughout his news conference, standing against a Red Wings-branded backdrop in the aftermath of a loss to the Rangers on Monday, Derek Lalonde kept complimenting Igor Shesterkin. A “very, very special goalie.” The difference in a 4-1 game.
And then the Detroit head coach, who observed plenty of elite goaltending from Andrei Vasilevskiy during his run as a Lightning assistant, dropped his most notable praise of the night: “I can see why he turned down the 88 [million]. Good agent.”
In the three-game sample of regular-season games since Shesterkin declined an eight-year, $88 million extension that would’ve made him the NHL’s highest-paid goalie, he has continued to bail out the Blueshirts — especially during the second period against the Red Wings — and produce a strong start to what has now become a contract season.
Monday didn’t have the same ending as his opening-night shutout. It wasn’t as rocky as the Rangers’ loss to the Utah Hockey Club on Saturday, either.
But while the Rangers figure out their defensive issues in front of their Vezina Trophy-winning goaltender, Shesterkin has provided early evidence — perhaps enough to keep bumping his price tag higher and higher — that he can help them bridge the gap until everything clicks.
“It was a really tough game to judge him [Saturday],” head coach Peter Laviolette said postgame, “and I said this before, there’s times where I think we just do things that — not a lot of goaltenders can make the save that needed to be made last game. You might make one, but when you need four or five of them out there, there’s gonna be trouble coming at you.
As we arrive at the final five weeks of the NFL regular season, the quarterback market for 2026 continues to take shape.
Tyler Kolek is getting his opportunity as the backup point guard and, frankly, it’s not going well.
Less than two weeks removed from being a point away from the bottom of the Eastern Conference, the Rangers appear to be surging again, winning four of their past five games heading into Thursday’s match at Ottawa.
This is not a great time for the Mets to need a center fielder.
Tyrod Taylor knows the perils of being a dual-threat quarterback, and he knows what it’s like for Jaxson Dart to be learning when to take a hit and when to avoid one.
Giannis Antetokounmpo’s days in Milwaukee may be numbered.
Brian Daboll tried in his own way to get Abdul Carter on the right path.
Elden Campbell, a 15-year NBA veteran who spent the majority of his career playing with his hometown Los Angeles Lakers, has died, according to the Los Angeles Times. He was 57.
Shedeur Sanders has another potential challenger with the Browns.
The offseason signing of Vladislav Gavrikov became exponentially more important for the Rangers when Adam Fox was ruled out for the foreseeable future.
Suddenly, someone had hit a rewind button and everyone had been transported back seven months. It was early spring instead of late fall, it was broiling hot outside the arena walls and not freezing cold. Everyone was back at TD Garden. There were 19,156 frenzied fans on their feet begging for blood, poised for the kill.
After leaving practice early on Monday to be evaluated for a lower-body injury, Adam Edstrom did not suit up Tuesday night against the Stars.
It’s not you, it’s me.