The Rangers head out on the road for three straight and are away from MSG for five if the next six contests. Tonight’s game against Winnipeg marks the return of Jacob Trouba and Brendan Lemieux to their former home. Igor Shesterkin makes his second straight start between the pipes for the Blueshirts who next face Minnesota.
The lineup should be the same as Sunday’s game. That includes between the pipes, where Shesterkin gets the nod. Coach David Quinn’s comments after the win over LA pretty much laid out that Igor would be in net, which was confirmed Sunday.
As Newsday noted today, Quinn raved about Shesterkin’s demeanor and record following the game Sunday. Shesterkin has claimed a win in 101 of his 126 games in the NHL, AHL and KHL dating to the beginning of the 2016-17 season. He has won 22 of his 30 decisions with the Rangers and Hartford this season and has come out with at least one point in 25.
Shesterkin has two wins with at least 40 saves among his first six career NHL games, only the fourth goalie since 1955-56 to accomplish that. He will enter his first NHL road start having stopped 194 of the last 206 shots he has faced — a .942 save percentage. Take all those numbers and add in the struggles of Henrik Lundqvist and Alexandar Georgiev, at a minimum when compared to Shesterkin, and the decision sure looks fairly easy. Quinn and goaltending coach Benoit Allaire have to manage egos, especially Hank’s, based upon on his tenure and meaning to the team. But as Quinn said, winning is paramount now and you go who with is the best between the pipes.
Trouba returns to Winnipeg after leaving in ignominious fashion, forcing a trade, as he was not going to sign a long-term extension with the Jets. New York acquired Trouba for a first-round pick, which originally belonged to Winnipeg and was traded to New York for Kevin Hayes, and Neal Pionk. The trade has not worked out so far as the rangers had hoped, as Trouba has yet to become the first-pair blueliner New York hoped they were acquiring, struggling with his pair mate and defensive play while losing his point spot on the power play. Pionk has excelled following the trade, bolstered by seeing – as jimbo pointed out – 56% of his zone starts are when Winnipeg is in the offensive zone, aiding his stats. Look for the Winnipeg faithful to have a field day with Trouba today. The same likely won’t be the case for Lemieux, who has seen an uptick in usage following the trade, but not to the extent he or we expected. He didn’t request a deal, which is why Jets fans will probably welcome him back kindly.
Monday, one major possible trade option was removed from the market, as Minnesota (finally) traded Jason Zucker to Pittsburgh for Alex Galchenyuk, 2020 first-round pick and Calen Addison. Zucker has three more years with an AAV of $5.5 million, which increased his market value in the deal. Galchenyuk will be a UFA and has two months to show he is worthy of any kind of multi-year deal, since his game has plummeted following his trade from Montreal to Arizona for Max Domi and then from the Coyotes to Penguins as a part of the Phil Kessel trade. Pittsburgh may have found a new linemate for Sidney Crosby, but will now not have a first rounder – presuming they make the playoffs – for the sixth time in eight years while also surrendering a top prospect in Addison.
This might increase the price to acquire for Chris Kreider, especially with Pittsburgh ramping up. But as an UFA after the season, the return is unlikely to be as high as what Minnesota received, though Kreider is a proven playoff performer, which adds to his value. A first rounder is pretty much a given, unless New York looks to acquire two players as assets, rather than the pick and player. If a deal is to be had with Boston, who along with Washington, Tampa, the Islanders, Colorado and others, are rumored to be in the mix, I have little interest in Trent Frederick, who I think is at best a fourth liner, which is a need in NY, but not a major piece of a deal. The name prominently mentioned has been John Beecher, the Bruins’ first round pick a year ago. If Boston dealt him and the #1, New York would probably take that package. Jake DeBrusk, an RFA after this season, has also had his name bandied about, but I would be a bit surprised if the B’s included him in a deal for Kreider without more coming back.