CHICAGO — It was Igor Shesterkin’s net once again.
The Russian goaltender made his first start since Jan. 26 and first since the All-Star break on Friday night against the Blackhawks at United Center, where the Rangers didn’t do him any favors aside from pulling out a 4-3 overtime win after the team blew a two-goal lead in the third period.
“I think the goals that they scored, they were some really good shots and a tip,” said Mika Zibanejad, who scored the game-winner 2:37 into the extra period to extend the Blueshirts win streak to four games.
“I think he played well tonight. We can do a better job of helping him out.”
There wasn’t much Shesterkin could’ve done about at least two of the three Blackhawks goals, but there was a shakiness to the 28-year-old when he handled the puck on a couple of occasions.
Shesterkin ultimately finished with 28 saves on 31 shots in his first win since Jan. 21.
“I thought Igor looked good,” head coach Peter Laviolette said. “If you look at the goals, there’s not a lot you can do. … Everything leading up to it, there’s so many things that we could’ve done differently and we didn’t.”
There was a plan in place to get Shesterkin some extra work with Rangers director of goaltending Benoit Allaire coming out of the eight-day break in game action, over which he represented the Rangers, along with Vincent Trocheck and Laviolette, in the NHL’s All-Star Weekend festivities.
It was considered to be a reset for Shesterkin, who went 4-5-1 with a 3.25 goals-against average and a .863 save percentage in his previous 10 appearances.
Quick was always penciled in to play against the Avalanche and he made 32 saves in the Rangers’ 2-1 overtime win.
It earned himself another start against the Lightning, which resulted in a 3-1 victory for the Blueshirts thanks in part to Quick’s 18-save performance.
“I think more than anything he’s helping me, right?” Quick said of Shesterkin. “He’s just such a phenomenal goalie. I learn a lot just from watching him. I’m a big believer in having that relationship with your goalie partner where if I see something I can help him, if he sees something he can help me. I think that goes a long way.
“I think that goes a long way for any position, right? See the centers talking to centers about faceoffs and D partners talking. I feel it’s the same for goalies, too. I think it only helps me and him.”
With a primary assist on Chris Kreider’s 2-1 score in the first period, Adam Fox notched his 30th assist of the season and became the sixth player — and second defenseman — in Rangers history to post that many in each of his first five seasons with the organization.
The 25-year-old joins Mark Messier, Phil Goyette, Artemi Panarin, Reijo Ruotsalainen and Phil Esposito as the only Rangers to accomplish the feat.