The New York Rangers have been struggling in recent weeks, and now they face another challenge with the injury to goaltender Igor Shesterkin. The Rangers will play without him for at least three games, starting with Thursday’s matchup against the Boston Bruins, the last two teams to win the Presidents’ Trophy for the best regular season record.
New York has gone 4-15-0 in their last 19 games, a slide that began after a 4-3 win over the Vancouver Canucks on Nov. 19. Shesterkin was hurt during Monday’s 5-3 loss to the Florida Panthers, where he allowed four goals.
He had also given up five goals in the loss to Tampa Bay on Saturday. Shesterkin is now on injured reserve with an upper-body injury, and he will miss at least the Bruins game as well as the next two road games against the Washington Capitals and Chicago Blackhawks. Jonathan Quick will start in goal, with Louis Domingue as the backup.
While the Rangers hope Shesterkin’s absence is short, they’re looking to avoid a fifth straight loss, which would tie their worst streak of the season. Their current four-game losing streak has seen them outscored 19-6. Shesterkin himself has struggled recently, with a 1-5-0 record in his last six starts.
During their 19-game slump, the Rangers have lost 11 times by two or more goals. In their last game against the Panthers, they battled back from an early 2-0 deficit, tying the game twice through goals from Filip Chytil, Ryan Lindgren, and Chris Kreider.
Despite their effort, they couldn’t get the equalizer. Artemi Panarin acknowledged that while the team is playing better, they’re still losing: “It’s hard to be happy with (playing well), because we’re still losing.”
The Bruins, under interim coach Joe Sacco, have gone 12-6-1 since he replaced Jim Montgomery. They’ve won four straight games and are 5-2-1 in their last eight. In their most recent game on Tuesday, a 3-1 loss to Washington, they struggled with execution.
Despite taking 83 shots, only 27 hit the target. Sacco pointed out that they need to improve their offensive entries and get closer to the net. David Pastrnak, who has been struggling since returning from an injury, has not scored in five of the last six games.
The Rangers won all three meetings with Boston last season, after the Bruins had swept them in the 2022-23 campaign.
