Recently, a host of challenges has caused the New York Rangers to plummet in the NHL standings, with the latest issue being the health of goaltender Igor Shesterkin.
The Rangers will now look to navigate this difficult period without Shesterkin for at least three games, beginning with Thursday’s matchup against the Boston Bruins, who are the most recent teams to win the Presidents’ Trophy for the best regular-season record.
New York has struggled significantly, going 4-15-0 in their last 19 games following a 4-3 victory against the Vancouver Canucks on November 19.
Shesterkin sustained an upper-body injury during Monday’s 5-3 loss to the Florida Panthers, where he played the full game but conceded four goals, adding to the five allowed in a prior loss to Tampa Bay. As a result, he has been placed on injured reserve.
He will miss at least Thursday’s game and subsequent road encounters against the Washington Capitals and Chicago Blackhawks. In his absence, Jonathan Quick (5-4-0, 2.69 goals-against average, .907 save percentage) will take the starting role, with Louis Domingue as the backup.
While the Rangers hope Shesterkin will return soon, they are trying to avoid matching their season’s worst with a fifth consecutive loss.
New York’s recent downturn began with five back-to-back defeats from November 21-29 and they have been outscored 19-6 during their current four-game losing streak. Shesterkin’s record in his last six games is 1-5-0.
The Rangers have experienced 11 losses by two or more goals during this rough patch and attempted to rally in Monday’s game against the Panthers. They fell behind early, equalized with goals from Filip Chytil and Ryan Lindgren in the second period, and tied the game again with Chris Kreider’s third-period power-play goal.
“It’s hard to feel good about our play when we keep losing,” said Artemi Panarin. “But at least we didn’t give up and played well. We had opportunities to tie it again, but we need to convert those chances.”
Meanwhile, the Bruins hold a 12-6-1 record in 19 games since Joe Sacco took over as coach following a 5-1 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets on November 18. They registered four straight wins from December 1-7 and are currently 5-2-1 in their last eight.
In their most recent match, a 3-1 defeat against Washington on Tuesday, Justin Brazeau scored early, but the Bruins conceded two late goals in the first period and only managed to have 27 of their 83 shots on target.
“We need to execute better on our entries,” Sacco stated. “That’s where it begins, and once we’re in the zone, we need to get closer to the net. Improving in that area is essential for us.”
David Pastrnak, who left Boston’s December 23 game with an upper-body injury, has not scored for the fifth time in six games after a pair of goals in consecutive matches against Vancouver and Calgary from December 14-17.
Last season, the Rangers won all three encounters against the Bruins after Boston swept the previous season’s series.
