Gallant pulls Shesterkin again but vows he'll start Game 5 taken at PPG Paints Arena (Penguins)

EMILEE CHINN / GETTY

Jake Guentzel celebrates his second-period goal in Game 4 at PPG Paints Arena on Monday

Rangers coach Gerard Gallant said on Sunday that he expected Igor Shesterkin to be "outstanding" in Game 4 on Monday.

Shesterkin had just gotten yanked in Game 3 on Saturday at first intermission, having allowed four goals on 15 shots through the first 20 minutes.

"It's a one-off for me," Gallant said. "Stuff happens like that."

Gallant had good reason to have confidence in the future Vezina-winning goaltender.

Shesterkin had shown an ability to bounce back after losses throughout the regular season. In the games immediately following Rangers losses in which Shesterkin was the starter, Shesterkin went 14-2-1 with three shutouts, a 2.07 goals-against average and a .934 save percentage.

It wasn't a one-off. 

The Penguins chased Shesterkin once again in their 7-2 win Monday at PPG Paints Arena in Game 4. Shesterkin's night ended after 40 minutes, allowing six goals on the 30 shots faced. Backup goaltender Alexandar Georgiev finished the game once again in relief.

It's not even that Shesterkin has been bad this series. That's not it at all. The Penguins have just been finding ways to beat him.

The Penguins were going to the high-danger areas of the ice, looking for rebound and deflection opportunities in Game 4. They recorded 22 high-danger shot attempts to the Rangers' two. The heat map showing the game's shot attempts shows just a big sea of red in front of Shesterkin's crease and through the slot:

photoCaption-photoCredit

Sidney Crosby's opening goal was one of those high-danger shots. Crosby drove to the net-front and jammed in a puck that Shesterkin didn't quite have covered:

Jake Guentzel scored the game's third goal by driving to the net and redirecting a pass from Bryan Rust:

Getting deflections -- either by going to the net-front themselves or just getting pucks through and benefitting from a bounce off of a Rangers player -- has been key too.

"There's probably four goals that were deflected tonight," Gallant said Monday.

Mike Matheson's goal, the second goal of a game, changed directions when it deflected off of Frank Vatrano:

Mark Friedman's goal went off of the stick of Vatrano:

Danton Heinen's goal came from going to the net-front and deflecting a shot down and past Shesterkin:

Jeff Carter got a stick on a shot from Jason Zucker for another deflection:

Shesterkin has little chance of making those saves on those shots that change direction on the way in.

I asked Sidney Crosby after the game what has allowed the Penguins to find this kind of success against Shesterkin, and he credited the Penguins' ability to get to the high-danger areas of the ice and look for those kinds of opportunities.

"I think we're just competing hard at the net-front," Crosby said. "You know, we're going to the front of the net, some great tips. Sometimes those don't always go in and fortunately for us, they did tonight. Whether we're getting tips or second chances, I think it's just guys getting pucks through and guys competing to get to the net."

Jeff Carter echoed the sentiment

"We're trying to make it tough on him," he said. "Get pucks and bodies there. Luckily, we've had some success here."

When the buzzer sounded for the end of the second period, the taunting "EEEEEE-GOOOOOR" chants from the crowd were deafening.

When Georgiev led the Rangers onto the ice for the final frame, the chant emanating from the stands turned into "WE WANT IGOR!"

It's incredible to see the way the goaltending storyline has panned out in this series. The talk heading into the postseason was how much of a challenge it was going to be going up against Shesterkin -- who is surely going to win the Vezina this year and will at least be a finalist for the Hart -- with the Penguins having to lean on their backup in Casey DeSmith. Four games into the series, it's the Penguins' No. 3 goaltender in Louis Domingue who has all three of Pittsburgh's wins in the series. Shesterkin, at the other end of the ice, has been yanked twice now.

The fans that chanted "WE WANT IGOR!" for the last period in Game 4 will get their wish as the series head back to New York.

Georgiev has been strong in relief. Through the three periods that he's played, he's stopped 29 of 31 shots for a .935 save percentage. But with the Rangers on the brink of elimination heading back to their home barn for Wednesday's Game 5, they'll turn back to their No. 1 in Shesterkin.

"He'll be back in there, and he'll be ready to win the next game on Wednesday night," Gallant said of Shesterkin. "I've got all the confidence in the world in him. It was a tough night for our team. I'm disappointed more in our team than him."

Shesterkin may have gotten pulled in these last two games, but the Penguins are still expecting him to present a major challenge as they try to close out the series.

"Obviously, he's a heck of goalie," Carter said. "He was arguably the best goalie in the league all year. ... We've got a long ways to go, though. I'm sure he's going to bounce back, it'll be a tough one."


Loading...
Loading...