So, we return to Igor Shesterkin for Saturday afternoon’s game in Philadelphia, which is the best possible indication in terms of the goalkeeper’s health after his Thursday with 41 saves, in an 8-3 victory over Flyers, which followed three weeks absence due to an inguinal strain.
“I thought he looked great,” said running coach Kris Knoblauch. “I thought he made some very big saves in the first period. I’m not sure what the score was at the time, it was definitely tight, the save he made [Claude] Giroux. “
The one in which the netminder exploded over the fold to reject Giroux from a distance, was left with 5:18 left in the period and the Rangers increased, 3-0. Compared to 6-0, which became the score at 2:42 in the second period, or 9-0, which was the final score between the Garden fighters on March 17, 3-0 could be considered “tight”.
But Shesterkin was tested, and especially in the last two periods when the Blueshirts, in varying degrees, began to hunt light points once it became 6-0. Shesterkin have faced 33 hits in the last 40 minutes and 44 overall, the most allowed by the Rangers this season.
“He played very well,” Knoblauch said. “I thought I gave up some very good scoring chances. At the end of the day, the scoring chances were very equal. So that says a lot about how well Igor played. ”
The Blueshirts will return to a game in Washington on Sunday afternoon, so Keith Kinkaid or Alexandar Georgiev will probably receive the mission against the capitals.
With Phillip Di Giuseppe out of the COVID-19 protocol list, the Rangers are adding to the list. The band had not yet been established when Knoblauch held its press session early Friday afternoon.
“We haven’t decided yet,” Knoblauch said. “I talked to [heac coach David Quinn], obviously, and we’re still sitting on a few things. Everyone is healthy, but we don’t want to commit to this range yet. ”
It’s unclear if the Rangers feel they might need some sort of additional line-up response, if the Flyers completely ignore coach Alain Vigneault’s “whistle-blowing” mandate, as they have freely done. during Thursday’s match.
Sam Morin, who appears to have been fined for pulling Brendan Lemieux’s hair during an attack the Flyer instigated at 6:34 p.m. of the third period, tried to start a fight in almost every the turn he was on the ice.
Of course, the Rangers’ best response to stupidity is to score in the power play, which the Blueshirts made in each of their first three opportunities through the first 21:15 of the game, the last one came with Morin in the box for a bit of the nonsense that came after the whistle.
The lineup is not set, but it does not appear that Vitali Kravtsov will be called up from the taxi team to make his NHL debut in it.
“I’m not sure what Kravvy’s plan is when he comes [up]Knoblauch said. “I don’t think it will come right away, but things could change.”