WASHINGTON — The disparity in talent between the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Rangers and the 17th-overall Caps is stark and acknowledged even by Washington coach Spencer Carbery.
But Friday was the night and this was the game — Game 3 of the first round — where the Blueshirts needed Igor Shesterkin to make the difference. And he did, oh how he did, just the way Henrik Lundqvist did so often when the Rangers and Caps hooked up four times in five postseasons the first half of last decade.
The Rangers assumed a commanding 3-0 lead in the series with a 3-1 victory while scoring once at five-on-five, once on the power play and once on the penalty kill. Maybe because the club was on a parade to the box that resulted in six man-advantages for the home team, but the Blueshirts were forced back on their heels much of the night.
They defended well and hard, they competed well and hard, but they didn’t have the puck all that much for large swatches of the match even during those rare stretches in which the game was contested at full strength. Fact is, the Rangers took three shots on net over a 30:45 stretch from 4:47 of the second period to 15:32 of the third while enlarging their lead from 2-1 to the final score
“We know what kind of goalie he is,” said Mika Zibanejad, who had a pair of assists. “But just to see the way he played tonight was huge for us, especially in the moments they had their pushback.”
Alex Ovechkin, the Putinista who for three games has looked like nothing more than an old man wearing a “C,” had a glorious chance from the left circle on a power play with 35 seconds remaining in the first period. It was No. 8’s best chance of the series. He was denied by Shesterkin, who lunged as he came across from left to right.
“I just tried to be in front of the puck and stop the puck,” Shesterkin said. “He made a really good shot and it hit my hand.”
The netminder made a pair of spectacular saves on Max Pacioretty from alone in front, the second midway through the second period more spectacular than the first. Shesterkin said, “I was lucky.”
There was another one on Maxim Lapierre alone in the slot in the final minute of the second, a right pad flash on Tom Wilson early in the third and a point-blank stop of Dylan Strome in the third.
Odd, but the goalie got lucky again and again and again.
It is not as if the Rangers were under siege, but there were those half-dozen 10-bell chances with which their goaltender had to contend. He contended with it very, very well on a night where he faced 28 shots overall and eight over the 12:00 his team was shorthanded.
“There wasn’t a lot of volume, there weren’t a lot of chances, but there were a couple of big chances and the ones that go across the crease and they happen really quick, he had to be really sharp,” said head coach Peter Laviolette. “He had to be really sharp.
“You could tell that he was on point, he saw everything that was happening. It wasn’t volume but there were a couple of big ones.”
The Rangers have dominated the 180 minutes of the series but even while leading 3-0, they haven’t quite broken away. But the same can be said for the Hurricanes with their 3-0 lead over the Islanders and for the Panthers with their 3-0 lead over the Lightning. The lower seeds may not have the talent, but they have pride and are pushing as best they can. The Caps’ push likely would have succeeded in this one if not for their goaltender.
This was Shesterkin’s 31st postseason start. It marked the 18th time he has surrendered two goals or fewer and the second time in this series he was nicked for just one goal. His save percentage has been .949 or above in a dozen of those starts, .923 or above in 21 of his playoff assignments.
There is the imposing power play. There is the elite penalty kill. There is the mature mindset. But there is also Shesterkin, always Shesterkin.
Remember the goaltending controversy in January?