From an outside experience, there is nothing too alarming about the Rangers’ season so far. Their current record of nine wins, three losses and three overtime losses is fairly average — if not, above average — as they sit in third place in the Metropolitan division. There is one very glaring issue, though. Igor Shesterkin is constantly stealing games for his team. 

Shesterkin is among the NHL’s top goaltenders without question. He is a vital player for the Rangers, and he makes a difference in every outing. That being said, the players in front of him are not pulling their weight. He’s faced over 35 shots in five of his 11 starts this season, and has faced the third most shots among all goaltenders as of Sunday night. 

It is evident from their shots to shots allowed differential, -101, that the team is underperforming defensively and not creating enough chances to pad their leads to take some pressure off Shesterkin. Just recently, the Blueshirts racked up a 4–0 lead against the Florida Panthers, and let up three goals in the third period. It was still a win for the team, but Shesterkin was clearly frustrated leaving the ice. 

What, exactly, is the problem? Is it the defensive players like Adam Fox, Jacob Trouba, and Patrick Nemeth? Short answer: It’s not. Long answer: Nemeth is hovering around the league lead for shots blocked, and the defensive duo of Fox and Ryan Lindgren are not too far behind him. Trouba is a consistent defensive presence for the Rangers, with 28 blocks and 39 hits. 

There is a lack of production from some key players – Alexis Lafrenière, Kaapo Kakko and Filip Chytil are the most notable – that could help defend leads and create a better situation for Shesterkin. Lafrenière only recently snapped a six game scoring drought, Kakko has two points in 11 games, and Chytil had only three points in 12 games before getting injured last week. 

Forwards are one root of the problem. The Rangers are very poorly ranked in faceoff percentage, and one of the team’s star forwards, Artemi Panarin, leads the team in giveaways. The possession numbers need to be better. Losing faceoffs very easily sets up a breakout or offensive zone scoring chance for the opponent.

The Rangers’ most glaring problem is holding leads late in the game. They lost a recent tilt with the Edmonton Oilers in overtime after leading 4–2 at the end of the second period. It was a similar situation against the Vancouver Canucks just a few days before; the Blueshirts led 2-0 at the end of the second, then let up two goals in the third and the decider in overtime.

Shesterkin was visibly upset with his team in both of those cases, and rightfully so. The Rangers started the season by gaining momentum in the later periods, and now fans are seeing a complete reversal. 

Shesterkin has been solid for the Rangers, without a doubt, but when he needs a break, head coach Gerard Gallant must go to the backup, Alexander Georgiev. He has not been very dependable this season, with a goals against average upwards of 4.0 and a sub .900 save percentage in three games. Shesterkin’s current workload will not be sustainable for the immediate future, so Rangers fans will anxiously look to Georgiev to step up his play. 

After an almost week-long break, the Rangers played back to back games against the Columbus Blue Jackets and the New Jersey Devils on Nov. 13 and 14. They clearly took advantage of the break, showing improvement after their costly late-game mistakes. However, Shesterkin was injured at the end of the game in Columbus, which caused Georgiev to take over and finish out the win, 5–3. Georgiev continued his play with a start at home against the Devils, resulting in a 4–3 shootout win. 

Things seem to be looking up for the Rangers after this weekend. They will host the Montreal Canadiens at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday, and then head back up to Canada for another road trip.