There may be a lot currently being said about Igor Shesterkin regarding his recent play and future with the New York Rangers, but the superstar goalie doesn’t seem to care.
In 18 games played this season Shesterkin has an 8-9-1 record with a .908 save percentage and 3.05 goals against average.
The Rangers have lost six out of their past seven games with the team currently playing some of their worst hockey.
Meanwhile, Shesterkin’s contract situation remains a mystery and that has caused a lot of outside noise and speculation.
However, the rumors involving his name as well as trade rumors surrounding the Rangers don’t even enter Shesterkin’s mind.
“I don’t read and I try to not hear about that,” Shesterkin said about all of the outside noise. “I just focus on my game, on my practice and on my family. That’s it.”
Similar to some of the other players in the locker room, Shesterkin is not pushing the panic button over this recent skid for the Rangers.
The 28-year-old knows that struggles are natural and feels that the team just needs to work through them.
“Sometimes it happens, it’s sports,” Shesterkin said. “Sometimes you have bad days, sometimes you have good days. You just need to stay confident and just do what you do and work hard every day.”
Overall, Shesterkin is a quiet guy and a man of very few words. He lets his play do the talking for him.
You might not think of Shesterkin as the leader type and in the locker room he is more reserved. It’s on the ice where the veteran goalie finds his voice, leading both vocally and by example.
“I’m vocal in my mind,” Shesterkin said while laughing. “I don’t like to talk too much sometimes. Sometimes it happens, but usually it happens on the ice, not in the locker room.”
Both the Rangers and Shesterkin have gone through slumps before. The real test comes now to see how they will ultimately handle it.
Either they’ll build from these struggles or let it tear them down.
