The New Jersey Devils had home-ice advantage over the New York Rangers in Game 1 of their Stanley Cup Playoffs first-round series Tuesday night, but that did not matter to the men in blue, thanks in large part to the incredible job between the pipes by no other than netminder Igor Shesterkin.
The Rangers goalie was so good that his name reverberated in enemy territory late in regulation.
Igor chants at the rock 🫶
Goodnight Rangers fans, see you Thursday night 🫡 pic.twitter.com/VzCV6Y3Xh2
— x – Rangers on MSG (@RangersMSGN) April 19, 2023
Due to the blowout nature of Game 1, many Devils fans had already left Prudential Center long before the final buzzer sounded, so most Rangers fans in the building took advantage by trying to make the contest like a home game toward the end of regulation.
Article Continues BelowShesterkin was clearly up to the challenge of silencing the high-powered Devils offense, at least in Game 1. He stopped all but one of 27 shots on goal he faced. As a team, the Rangers were solid in slowing down New Jersey, especially when New York was trying to kill penalties. The Rangers special teams snuffed all four power-play attacks by the Devils while going 2-for-3 on the man advantage.
“He has been our best player,” Chris Kreider said of Igor Shesterkin after the game, per the Associated Press. ”He’s playing with a lot of confidence.”
Kreider and the offense of the Rangers gave Shesterkin a lot of confidence as well, as New York scored the first three goals of the contest, including a pair in the first period.
New York will look to go up 2-0 in the series in Game 2 on Thursday before Games 3 and 4 at Madison Square Garden.