Winnipeg Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck is a former Vezina Trophy winner and has been nominated for the award on more than one occasion. The Rangers were certainly reminded of that as the 29 year old made over fifty saves in his second game in two night's, completely shutting down the Rangers offensive efforts. This was one of those night's where all you can do as a fan is turn off the TV and simply shrug your shoulders. The team has won eight of their last ten and up until last night, hadn't lost in regulation since before the All-Star break. Sure, they've now dropped two games in a row but there's no reason to lose sleep over it, especially when you factor in how well the team played overall.
The one concern that certain fans aren't hesitating to voice their opinions on is directly relative to Igor Shesterkin. Shesty did not have a great game last night and hasn't really had a standout performance in recent showings. It's no secret last night's game ended up being a goalie's game and for the most part, only one of which showed up and it was Hellebuyck. Igor had 21 saves on the night but some of the goals he let in were pretty soft, especially for his standards. On the opposite side, the Rangers were credited with 51 shots on goal, many of which Hellebuyck came up with huge saves, single handedly keeping the Rangers from coming alive in this one.
As Rangers fans, we've truly been spoiled for the majority of the last couple decades. Very seldom do the Blueshirt's need to worry about goaltending so when these little slumps come up, it's rather comical how quickly people are to hit the panic button. It's a long season, the expectation for anyone, skater or goaltender to be outstanding for 60 games a year is a pretty high standard. Especially after the season Shesterkin had last year, it's borderline ridiculous to expect him or anyone to be that good all the time let alone the year that immediately follows a Vezina winning year. The point with all of this is there is no reason to worry about Shesterkin. Would it have been nice for him to come up with a couple more saves last night so the Rangers could've stayed in this one? Sure. Is it a big deal that he didn't? Not really.
The Jets got an early power play in the first period where Josh Morrissey, who is having just a remarkable season, let a shot go that deflected off of Pierre-Luc Dubois in front of the net to get Winnipeg on the board. Not much Igor could really do here. The team was shorthanded, it was a tough redirect through traffic, not his fault. However later in the period, Mark Scheifele tucked away a loose rebound off a Kyle Connor shot that Shesterkin definitely should've been able to hold on to. As often the case with many goals, several things went wrong on the play that led to the goal but that's obviously a pretty uncharacteristic one for Igor to let up. The Rangers took a 2-0 deficit to the second but with 20 shots on goal through the first twenty, it was hard to really feel like they were out of this one.
The second period would be equally as dominant for the Rangers as they continued to out-shoot the Jets, this time 12-4. Nevertheless, the Jets would still find a way to add to their lead as Kyle Connor let a shot go from the slot that may have found the back of the net through a screen with Braden Schneider attempting to block the shot but again, not a typical one for Shesterkin to give up. The Rangers now had an even bigger deficit ahead of them but with how they were playing and their notorious comeback efforts, there was still plenty of time left. Finally, just about five minutes after the Kyle Connor goal, Vincent Trocheck found a way to beat Hellebuyck off a nice pass from Vladimir Tarasenko. 3-1 going into the third.
Another 19 shots for the Rangers but Connor Hellebuyck would stop them all. As time continued to dwindle, it wasn't looking great for New York and with about four and a half to go, Mark Scheifele would negate any possibility of Gallant pulling the goalie for the extra skater. A weak back hander from the slot beat Shesterkin once again which essentially acted as the dagger in this one. The Rangers would drop this one 4-1, their second loss of that score to Winnipeg on the season but given how good the Rangers have been, it's no cause for concern.
There's no question there will be a little more stake in their next outing in Detroit on Thursday to prevent a streak from forming but other than that, there really isn't much to overanalyze here. You're not going to win every single night and when you run into a goalie playing as well as Hellebuyck, there's not much you can really do. Goaltending aside, the team played really well, had plenty of great chances and the chemistry with the second and third lines is really blooming. In addition to that, Tyler Motte was extremely noticeable out there, making the fourth line visibly better right out of the gate.
Shesterkin opted not to be available to the media following the game which does fuel the fire of the crazy's but should be understandable. No one is harder on the star goaltender than he himself so if you're one of those fans who is worried about him, don't be. I'd expect a bounce back game for him much sooner than later and if his next start comes on Thursday Night, there's no reason for that game not to be that night. With two back to back's coming up in the next stretch of five games, it'll be pretty interesting to see how the team handles starting duties. Given this little slump and how the schedule plays out, I wouldn't rule out the possibility of Jaro Halak seeing three of the five starts. Of the next five, there's only one game where the team is really going to need their goalie to have a big game and that's a week from Saturday when they visit the Bruins over in Boston. Igor and his teammates will have a pair of days before the next game where they'll look to get back in the wins column.
Chris Feldman
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