Rangers look to continue home dominance of Devils

Henrik Lundqvist has been the franchise goaltender since his emergence in 2005-06 helped the New York Rangers end seven straight seasons of missing the playoffs.

Discussion about Lundqvist's eventual successor has been quiet until recent years, when Igor Shesterkin began dominating Russia's Kontinental Hockey League and then the American Hockey League.

Shesterkin made his highly anticipated debut in a 5-3 win over the Colorado Avalanche on Tuesday. The 24-year-old Russian could get the start again on Thursday when the Rangers host the New Jersey Devils.

The Rangers did not practice Wednesday after Shesterkin made 29 saves and settled down after allowing a goal on the first shot he faced. On Monday, New York promoted him from Hartford, with which the 2014 fourth-round pick was 15-4-3 with a stellar 1.93 goals-against average in his second season in the AHL.

"I liked it, but I can play a lot better," Shesterkin said through an interpreter. "I just need to get used to it, a little bit more."

"There was a lot I liked about our game, not just our goalie," said Rangers coach David Quinn, who added he did not decide who would start Thursday.

"I thought we played a thorough game. Everybody in that locker room realizes if we're going to have a chance to have the season we think we're capable of having, we certainly can't play the way we have the first 30 games, where we've got the inconsistencies and that pond-hockey approach from time to time."

Shesterkin became the fifth Ranger goaltender to earn a win in his regular-season debut since 1979-80, though one of them is not Lundqvist, whose first career win occurred after a 20-save performance in 4-1 victory over New Jersey on Oct. 13, 2005.

Lundqvist helped the Rangers reach the playoffs for 11 out of 12 seasons before management began a rebuild in February 2018 that included eventually calling up Shesterkin, who was drafted weeks after the Rangers lost in the Stanley Cup final in 2014.

Lundqvist is 9-9-3 with a 3.10 goals-against average in 24 games (22 starts) this season. He started once during New York's recent three-game losing streak through Western Canada, where the club allowed 13 goals.

Regardless of who starts, the Rangers will hope to get continued production from Artemi Panarin and Mika Zibanejad. Panarin has three goals and 10 assists in his last six games, and Zibanejad has five goals in that stretch.

The Devils have not experienced much success in recent visits to Madison Square Garden, where they own a 2-7-2 record in their last 11 games. They also experienced little success against Alexandar Georgiev, who made 33 saves while the Devils gave up two short-handed goals on extended power plays in a 4-0 home loss on Nov. 30.

The last meeting was the penultimate game for coach John Hynes, who was fired after a 7-1 loss in Buffalo on Dec. 2. Since replacing Hynes with Alain Nasreddine, the Devils are 6-7-3.

New Jersey enters Thursday playing better of late by going 6-3-2 since Dec. 13. The Devils blew a late one-goal lead and sustained a 4-3 overtime loss to the New York Islanders after Mackenzie Blackwood allowed the game-winning goal to captain Anders Lee.

The fact Blackwood was still around in overtime was impressive since he lost a few teeth while getting bloodied in the mouth in the second period.

"He was fighting it a little bit this morning with whatever he's got going on, so he came out and battled," New Jersey's Kyle Palmieri said. "And he kept up the way he's been playing. He's been playing great for us and giving us a chance to win."

--Field Level Media