Igor Shesterkin shined on Wednesday throughout the Rangers’ first scrimmage in which he went the distance with his Blue team prevailing, 3-1, over the White squad that had Henrik Lundqvist and Alex Georgiev split the 40-minute game.
“I thought Igor had a great day today. I thought he was outstanding today,” David Quinn said of Shesterkin, who entered this camp as the incumbent No. 1. “I liked all of the [goalies]. I thought Hank had a good day and Georgie had a good day.
“It’s not a surprise. As I’ve said, we have a lot of faith in all three of these guys. Let the battle continue.”
Shesterkin was sure and quick throughout, and stood tall turning away a flurry of shots from the Chris Kreider-Mika Zibanejad-Pavel Buchnevich unit in the final minutes, and denied Greg McKegg on a penalty shot. Meanwhile, Artemi Panarin’s penalty shot backhand score against Lundqvist late in the first period broke a 1-1 tie and stood up as the difference in the match that was reasonably up-tempo but ragged in many spots.
Georgiev did not allow a goal as the final score came on an empty-netter.
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“We obviously hadn’t played a game in a while and I think the quicker you get into game situations, the better you’re going to be,” said Quinn. “People think we’ve got some time but before you know it, Aug. 1 is going to be here.
“We have to put these guys into game-like situations and get acclimated to the game-pace, changes, shift lengths and the little details and nuances of the game. One of the things we’ve talked about as a staff is building blocks, building every day, and it’s not about going for a long period of time, it’s about being efficient and playing at a pace.
“I was impressed with the pace we were able to sustain through the 40 minutes. I loved our work ethic and the fact there wasn’t a big drop-off.”
Said Marc Staal: “It was pretty scrambly out there with a lot of mistakes, but I thought it was more about getting game-like touches and getting comfortable with that. I thought the pace was pretty high, it was a good effort, it was another step and we’ll continue to build on it.”
Taxi-squad members Libor Hajek, Darren Raddysh, K’Andre Miller, Brandon Crawley, Vinni Lettieri, Vitali Kravtsov, Tim Gettinger, Danny O’Regan and Steven Fogarty participated in the scrimmage.
“I’ve been on the ice with the extras and the other day I watched them from up top,” Quinn said. “We’re always watching and it always matters with the young guys, but that being said, it’s playoff hockey and we’re going to play the best guys that give us the best chance to win.
“That doesn’t mean we’re not going to continue to try to help these guys develop. Maybe it will happen sooner than later. Who knows? We’re going to continue to do our job with those guys, but again, this is all about winning playoff hockey games.”
The Rangers’ first two games against Carolina are scheduled for noon start times. Quinn said the team will reference their preparation for a noon start in Nashville on Nov. 2 that resulted in a 2-1 victory. The coach had the team awaken early and eat an extra meal.
The Rangers will be the designated home team as warranted throughout the tournament without jeopardizing the Garden’s tax-exempt status with the city. The original agreement includes language that would permit home games to be played elsewhere under Acts of God including an epidemic. The Blueshirts will be the home team with last change for Game 3 and the if necessary Game 4 against Carolina.