NHL REGOGNIZES SHESTERKIN VALUE

 Sooner or later the rest of the NHL will wake up and realize the New York Rangers don’t like contact. Except for Jacob Trouba, they are reluctant to drop their gloves. So why not run them? It’s certainly worth a try.

Meanwhile, the NHL recognized how valuable Igor Shesterkin is to the 

Rangers, unlike NY fans who don’t think he’s been nearly as effective 

as he’s been in recent seasons. The 2021-22 Vezina Trophy-winning 

goaltender was selected for the all-star game.

In Thursday’s game with the Blackhawks, Shesterkin continued to make 

up for poor play by his defense until K’Andre Miller was left behind 

on an odd man rush -- again, allowing Colin Blackwell to have enough 

time to fake the goalie then put the puck into a wide-open net. It was 

Blackwell’s first goal of the season.

The Rangers were coming off a 6-1 trouncing by Carolina in which a 

bad giveaway behind Shesterkin by Eric Gustafsson led to a killer goal. 

The veteran defenseman, in his first season in NY, carelessly threw a 

blind pass out front that was converted immediately into a 3-1 lead. The 

home team never recovered.

Eventually, NY coach Peter Laviolette will have to put Zac Jones in 

the lineup. The native Richmonder from Glen Allen has been a healthy 

scratch in 24 of the Rangers’ 37 games, the last nine in a row. He’s 22 

years old and wasting away while Laviolette ignores Gustafsson, who 

played for him a season ago in Washington, has been a liability more 

often than not.

Undermanned, talent-poor Chicago (4-16-1 on the road) made it too 

easy for division-leading New York which led by 2-1 until pulling away 

with two goals in the opening 2:41 of the final period. Ex-Ranger Marc 

Tinordi tried to get the Blackhawks going, pounding veteran Blake 

Wheeler in a rare fight by the Rangers. Nice try.

Blackhawks TV analyst Darren Pang: “You can see Connor Bedard 

for just $98 at the l00 level. A great deal …” Yeah, a real bargain … 

The NHL’s top 2023 draft choice, already runaway rookie-of-the-year 

candidate, Bedard played junior for former Richmond Robin John 

Paddock with the Regina Pats. Have you seen Bedard up close? He 

can’t be more than 15 years old. Actually … 18 going on 19 … but not 

until July 17.

“He’s standing on his head … spitting wooden nickels.” Blackhawks 

play by play man Chris Voster‘s tribute to Petr Mrazek while the 

Chicago goalie was keeping the Rangers from an early blowout.

Until next time ...