Can The Montreal Canadiens shutdown Igor Shesterkin?

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Joshua Deeds
October 21, 2024 (8:24 PM)

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For the Montreal Canadiens to even come out on top tomorrow, they'll have to crack the code of Igor Shesterkin.

The New York Rangers will have a home-ice advantage, and with the hot streak they are on, it seems unlikely for the Canadiens to do so.

The Rangers have only given up 10 goals in the last 5 games, which averages to at most 2 goals a game.

The Canadiens will come into Madison Square Garden riding on a three-game losing streak, so they will come with a purpose.

Cole Caulfield has been the main driver of offense for the Canadiens and has 7 points( 6 G, 1 A) in 6 games for the Habs.

He and the rest of the Canadiens offense will need to figure out how to pepper the crease and get people in front of Shesterkin's view to create traffic for an optimal chance to score a goal.

The Maple Leafs playbook! It didn't seem to work though, as the Maple Leafs were held to a goal.

Despite Caufield's success, there are questions about where the rest of the team's offence will come from against arguably the best netminder in the league, Igor Shesterkin, with his 1.97 goals-against average (GAA) and a beguiling .935 save percentage (SV%).

Auston Matthews elucidated his thoughts on Shesterkin's ability to put down the Leafs' usually high-powered offense:

"Very composed," Matthews said. "He's not the biggest guy, but he's very athletic & seems to come up with big saves when his team needs it. Obviously a lot of respect for him."

While the Montreal Canadiens have a plethora of great wingers and scoring depth, can Cole Caulfield, Brendan Gallagher, or Emil Heineman be able to accomplish what the Maple Leafs didn't?

Looking at the offensive output of the Habs they've been relatively thin on production and will need to fire it up to beat the Rangers who have put up 4.48 goals per game per Hockey Reference. This is a tall ask for a team that gives up 3.33 goals against per game.