RALEIGH, N.C. — There are a lot of reasons the Rangers take a commanding 3-0 second-round series lead into Saturday night’s Game 4 against the Hurricanes, one win away from reaching the Eastern Conference final.
There are 99 of them, to be exact.
That’s how many saves Rangers goaltender Igor Shesterkin has made in the past two games — on 104 Carolina shots.
The Rangers’ penalty kill and power play have dominated the Hurricanes.
Their star players have made the biggest plays in the biggest moments — most recently highlighted by Artemi Panarin’s work-of-art, between-the-legs redirect on the game-winning goal in overtime Thursday night.
But no star has shined more consistently brightly throughout the first seven games of these Stanley Cup playoffs — all wins — than Shesterkin.
The Rangers goaltender has been their best player night after night, something that beleaguered Carolina coach Rod Brind’Amour acknowledged on Friday.
“He’s been the difference; there’s no way around it,’’ Brind’Amour said. “You’ve got to give him credit. He’s made a lot of quality saves. There were a couple [saves] he made that were world-class. And that’s a couple that, if they go the other way, that’s the difference.
“You can say we’re not getting good enough shots, but he’s making some pretty good saves, too. He’s world-class.’’
Shesterkin, minus a short mid-season slump, was terrific in the regular season, compiling a 36-17-2 record, a 2.58 goals-against average and a .912 save percentage.
As good as he was in the regular season, he’s Exbibit A of a player who’s raised his level in the postseason. Shesterkin is 7-0 with a 2.35 goals-against and a .930 save percentage.
An example of how good he has been can be made by looking at the two contrasting playoff series the Rangers have played.
Washington, in the opening round, was a low-volume shot team lacking a bunch of skilled goal-scoring snipers. So, while Shesterkin wasn’t facing a large volume of shots, his challenge was not being lulled to sleep during stretches of inaction and remaining sharp for the occasional high-quality scoring chances.
He did just that, allowing just seven goals in four games against the Capitals.
Conversely, Carolina has a lineup stacked with goal-scoring threats and often peppers opposing goaltenders with a high volume of shots. The Hurricanes had 57 shots on goal in Game 2, with Shesterkin denying 54 of them.
Shesterkin was at his best in Game 2 at the Garden when he stoned the Canes on two power plays in overtime.
The Canes followed with 47 more rubber bullets on Shesterkin Thursday night, sneaking only two past him — the second of which came in a late six-on-five desperation rally with their goalie pulled for the extra skater.
“He changed the game,’’ Rangers center Alex Wennberg said Friday. “You need a goalie to make those saves. And honestly, Igor is making not only one or two, he’s making a lot of them for us. He makes key saves that keep us in the game and he makes key saves to give us the advantage. It’s really nice to have that.’’
Rangers center Jack Roslovic, like Wennberg a trade deadline acquisition, called Shesterkin “locked in.’’
“He’s been making timely saves, big saves, flashy saves and then all the nuts-and-bolts saves that he makes that that nobody really notices,’’ Roslovic said Friday. “He’s the backbone, the last line of defense. And when a guy’s shining like that, it makes life a lot easier.’’
As good as the Rangers penalty kill units have been, Shesterkin’s work on the Carolina power play has taken the life out of the Hurricanes, who appear exasperated and out of answers.
“They often say your goaltender is your best penalty killer, and he’s been outstanding with that,’’ Rangers coach Peter Laviolette said Friday. “That can take the edge out of [the opposing] building and settle things down.’’
The better Shesterkin is, the more confident the players in front of him are. It’s a true chain reaction and it’s a beautiful thing to watch — unless you happen to be wearing a Hurricanes jersey.
“We’ve been playing in their zone a lot but ‘Shesty’ has been good for them,” Carolina winger Andrei Svechnikov said. “I don’t know what we’ve got to do, but we’ve got to do something special here.”
Saturday night might be their last chance to do that.
“It’s been my experience in this that, to go a long way, your goaltender really, truly might have to be your best player — or one of them anyway,’’ Laviolette said. “He just seems like he’s really got his focus right now, really has his game.
“At the end of the day, it comes down to one guy that can bail you out on a lot of things, and I think that’s where the confidence comes from a team knowing that you can play a certain way and he’s got your back, he’s going to make the save.’’
He’s made 99 of them in the past two games.
Difference maker.
