Igor Shesterkin’s first win of the season came with a line no Rangers goaltender had ever written before: a goal. The New York netminder fired the puck the length of the ice into an empty Tampa Bay net at 17:26 of the third period, putting the finishing touch on a 5-1 home-opening win over the Lightning at Madison Square Garden on Thursday.
Shesterkin stopped 24 shots, then became the first goalie in Rangers history to score. His unassisted empty-netter was the 21st goaltender goal in NHL history and the 19th recorded during the regular season. He is the 18th different NHL goalie to do it.
The shot itself left Shesterkin waiting for confirmation. He sent the puck high and straight down the rink, but lost it in flight before it reached the far end.
“I didn’t see the puck land, so I didn’t know if I could celebrate or not,” Shesterkin said. “Everyone started jumping on me. Unbelievable feelings.”
Once the puck crossed the line, Shesterkin took the customary scorer’s trip down the Rangers bench, collecting handshakes and fist bumps from teammates. It was unfamiliar territory for a goalie who has long looked for chances to shoot at an empty net.
“It’s pretty nice,” he said. “I never did it before, so it’s a lot of fun.”
A long-awaited opening
Shesterkin has made no secret of wanting a goal on his résumé. Rangers center Mika Zibanejad said the club has seen him come close repeatedly from the bench.
“Probably a dozen times, I’ve been sitting there thinking, ‘OK, this one goes in,’ and he barely misses,” Zibanejad said.
This time, the puck emerged from the corner and settled in Shesterkin’s range. He did not hesitate, launching it toward the vacant Lightning cage.
Coach Mike Sullivan said he began to think the attempt had a real chance when the puck reached its high point in the air. Sullivan was not surprised that Shesterkin, one of the league’s better puck-handling goaltenders, completed the play.
“Obviously, one of his strengths is his ability to handle the puck,” Sullivan said.
Shesterkin, now 30, said he had scored once before in competitive hockey, recalling a goal in a junior league when he was 19. His NHL breakthrough had been on his mind for some time, though his initial celebration did not go as planned because he could not track the puck all the way in.
“I thought I would celebrate in a different way,” Shesterkin said. “But I didn’t see it cross the line, and I was a little shy and didn’t know what I could do. Maybe next time. I will keep trying to score one more time.”
Rangers feed off the moment
The goal brought a burst of emotion from a Rangers group accustomed to watching Shesterkin make difficult saves in key spots. Sullivan said the reaction around the crease said plenty about the regard his teammates have for him.
“When those moments occur for a team, they are great moments,” Sullivan said. “You can see the raw emotion on the players. ‘Shesty,’ he’s such a great goalie. He makes so many timely saves for us. When he has a moment like that, I think the guys get pretty fired up about it.”
Forward Pavel Dorofeyev, already aware of Shesterkin’s willingness to send the puck down ice, joked that the goalie has created a new competition within the room.
“He’s not just a great goalie, he’s a great goal-scorer right now,” Dorofeyev said. “I have a serious competitor right now, so I’ve got to keep an eye on him.”
Shesterkin also had some fun with the milestone afterward. Asked whether the goal had become the highlight of his career, he pointed to his March 31 fight with then-New Jersey Devils goalie Jacob Markstrom at Madison Square Garden.
“I don’t know, I like to watch my fight,” Shesterkin said, before acknowledging the scoring play had one clear advantage: “At least nobody is punching my face.”
He was also asked about friend and New York Islanders goalie Ilya Sorokin, who was credited with a goal last season after the Nashville Predators put the puck into their own net. Shesterkin had teased Sorokin that the tally should not fully count because Sorokin did not shoot it in himself.
Shesterkin’s verdict on his own was simple: “This one counts.”
