Shesterkin made 34 saves against the Maple Leafs, who fell to New York 4-1 on Saturday.
The Toronto Maple Leafs generated plenty of opportunities against the New York Rangers but couldn’t manage to score enough goals past goaltender Igor Shesterkin.
The Russian goalie made 34 saves on 35 shots, leading the Rangers to a 4-1 victory, dropping the Leafs to 3-2-0 for the season.
"You appreciate a goalie duel similar to what happened in Montreal earlier this year, but I mean, we had numerous chances," said Maple Leafs goaltender Anthony Stolarz after the game. "You can see why he's gonna be the highest-paid goalie in the league. He came up big for them tonight, and that's off him."
Shesterkin, who becomes an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season, has reportedly already turned down an offer of eight years at $11 million per season, according to ESPN’s Kevin Weekes. Stolarz was referring to the Leafs' season-opening 1-0 loss to the Montreal Canadiens where he played well, but Sam Montembeault made 48 saves in the victory.
On Saturday, Shesterkin made several outstanding saves against the Leafs, including a windmill stop on Maple Leafs forward John Tavares.
Auston Matthews scored Toronto’s only goal, a third-period effort that narrowed New York’s lead to 2-1 at 3:40.
"I mean, he's one of the best in the league, so you gotta make sure you got guys in front of him and create a little bit more havoc," Matthews said of Shesterkin. "I thought he saw too much. I thought we did a lot of good things, did more than enough to hang in there throughout the game."
Toronto struggled on the power play, going 0-for-3, which didn't help their cause. The Rangers provided the Leafs with their toughest challenge of the season so far, making things too easy for a goalie who’s widely regarded as the best in the NHL.
"Yeah, just really good goalie. Very composed, he's not the biggest guy, but he's very athletic and seems to be a good guy. And seems to come up with big saves when his team needs it," Matthews added. "And I see a lot of respect for him. He's really solid, and he's tough to beat."
Matthews had a game-high nine shots on goal, with William Nylander following closely behind with eight. The Leafs certainly had their chances, but Shesterkin proved why he’s expected to earn a substantial payday beyond his current contract.
"We can do a better job of taking his eyes away a little bit more," said Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube. "We had a lot of looks, they just didn’t go in, and we’ve got to execute better in the third period, on the power play, and the 6-on-5."
