Rangers goalie Igor Shesterkin was pulled in the second period on Thursday night against the Buffalo Sabres after giving up five goals on 12 shots.
The 28-year-old Russian, who came into the game with a 6-2-1 record and a 2.22 goals-against average, allowed a goal just 26 seconds into the game from Sabres captain Rasmus Dahlin.
Then, in the second period, he gave up four more goals—three of them in just 2:12—allowing the Sabres to take a 5-0 lead. Dylan Cozens, Tage Thompson, Jordan Greenway, and Sam Lafferty all scored during that time. Shesterkin was replaced by Jonathan Quick with 6:09 remaining after Lafferty’s goal.
The Sabres went on to defeat the Rangers 6-1.
“It really unraveled in the second,” said Rangers defenseman and captain Jacob Trouba. “Our goalie has kind of kept us in this thing for the first 12 games. We’ve got to be better and give up fewer quality chances.”
The Rangers, now 8-3-1 this season, had been winning mostly because of Shesterkin’s excellent performances.
“This certainly was not our best,” said defenseman Adam Fox. “We left him out to dry. It’s not good enough.”
Shesterkin won the Vezina Trophy as the best goaltender in 2021-22 with a 36-13-4 record and a 2.07 goals-against average. He won 37 games in 2022-23 and 36 last season, helping the Rangers finish with the NHL’s best record.
Shesterkin is in the final year of a four-year, $22.67 million contract, and there has been talk of him wanting to become the highest-paid goalie in NHL history.
