Trophy race: Second Vezina for Shesterkin?

Is it time for Igor Shesterkin to make room on his mantle to add a second Vezina Trophy? The NHL.com team thinks so.

The New York Rangers goalie has been dominant since making the jump to the NHL during the 2020-21 season. Among the 20 goalkeepers who have played the most games in the tournament since this campaign, he is first in goals-against average (2.42) and efficiency rating (.920), as well as ranked second for the number of shutouts (. 15). In terms of wins, Shesterkin is fourth with a record of 125-57-15, but he has played between 16 and 34 fewer games than the three goals ahead of him in this division, so he is first in the group for the win rate. all games played.

In short, Shesterkin is at the top of his game.

However, the 28-year-old pitcher only got his hands on the Vezina Trophy once in those four seasons — the only one in which he was named a finalist. It’s hard to believe.

If Shesterkin wants the League’s best goalie award, he needs to make sure he doesn’t repeat last year’s situation. His average was 2.58 and the efficiency rate was .913. Statistics that many visitors would dream of, but for him, they were the worst since his first time in the NHL.

How can we explain this slight decrease in speed? Shesterkin had a disastrous January, going 4-5-1 with a 3.25 GAA and .863 save – worst in the NHL for the month among 45 players who played at least five games.

But this bad patch ended when February came. Shesterkin went on to post a 17-5-1 record, a 2.20 GAA, a .930 save percentage and four shutouts to end the season.