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The goalie matchup for the nationally televised game between the New York Rangers and the Tampa Bay Lightning at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday (7:30 p.m. ET; ESPN, ESPN+, SN1, TVAS, SNNOW) could feature the two best goalies in the NHL today.
Igor Shesterkin of the Rangers won the Vezina Trophy as the best goalie in the NHL last season and finished third in the voting for the Hart Trophy, awarded to the most valuable player of the regular season. Andrei Vasilevskiy of the Lightning has reached the Stanley Cup Final in each of the past three seasons, winning the title in 2020 and 2021, and was named the 2021 Conn Smythe Trophy winner, awarded to the most valuable player in the playoffs. He won the Vezina Trophy in 2019.
Last season, Shesterkin helped lead the Rangers to the Eastern Conference Final, where he lost to Vasilevskiy and the Lightning in six games. He was 36-13-4 with a 2.07 goals-against average, .935 save percentage and six shutouts in 53 games (52 starts) during the regular season. For his career, the 26-year-old is 62-29-7 with a 2.31 GAA, .928 save percentage and eight shutouts in 100 regular-season games (95 starts).
Vasilevskiy won an NHL-best 39 games (39-18-5) with a 2.49 GAA and .916 save percentage in 63 regular-season games (all starts) last season. For his career, he is 229-101-24 with a 2.50 GAA and .919 save percentage in 365 regular-season games (355 starts).
Although Vasilevskiy has a sample size roughly three times that of Shesterkin, those numbers are strikingly similar.
Therefore, it begs the question: Which of the two goalies is better right now?
That's the question before NHL.com writers Tracey Myers and Mike Morreale in this installment of State Your Case.
Myers: "Greatest goalie in the world." I've been given that quote quite often when asking about Vasilevskiy for stories. It's hard to argue, right? As much as Shesterkin is a good goalie, he's not at the level of Vasilevskiy, who is entering the prime of his career. The Lightning goalie is a Vezina winner and was one of the three finalists for the award for four straight seasons (2017-21). He won the Stanley Cup in back-to-back seasons and came close to adding a third straight last season, losing to the Colorado Avalanche in six games. So, until proven otherwise, he's the best.
Morreale: It has taken Shesterkin a mere three seasons, including the past two as starter, to enter the conversation as the best goalie on the planet. It's a title he's absolutely earned when you consider he not only won the Vezina last season but became just the third goalie in the last 10 seasons to be named a finalist for the Hart Trophy (Carey Price of the Montreal Canadiens won in 2014-15; Sergei Bobrovsky , then of the Columbus Blue Jackets, was third in 2016-17). As Tracey noted, Vasilevskiy remains elite, but Shesterkin was never fazed by his heavy workload in 2021-22. He allowed two goals or fewer in 32 of his 52 starts and three of his six shutouts came in April when the Rangers were trying to secure home-ice advantage in the Eastern Conference First Round. He was the heart and soul of the Rangers and a big reason they advanced to the conference final. The experience he gained will help in his quest to become the first goalie to win the Vezina in back-to-back seasons in 15 years (Martin Brodeur of the New Jersey Devils in 2007, 2008).
Myers: Oh, I'll absolutely give Shesterkin his due. He's been outstanding and he's climbing the ranks. But he hasn't reached the mountaintop yet. It's all about consistency, right? That's true for any hockey player, but especially a goalie and Vasilevskiy is the epitome of that. Since becoming the Lightning starter in 2016-17, he's never had a GAA higher than 2.62 or a save percentage below .916. That's unreal. Shesterkin showed his ability to carry the load last season, but Vasilevskiy's been doing that for years. He had a career-high 64 starts in 2017-18 and was close to that again last season when he started 63. Again, kudos to Shesterkin but when he starts putting together numbers season after season like Vasilevskiy, I'll be more convinced of his place on the mountaintop.
Morreale: Totally agree with Tracey that consistency is vital, particularly as a goalie, and Vasilevskiy certainly has it. But Shesterkin proved how ready he is to unseat Vasilevskiy as the world's best goalie last season when he led the NHL in GAA (2.07; min. 30 games) and had the highest save percentage (.935) among goalies to play at least 30 games in a season since 2011-12. He is two years younger than the 28-year-old Vasilevskiy and has played 265 fewer games (348 if you count the Stanley Cup Playoffs), so he doesn't have the wear and tear as his fellow countryman. On top of that, Shesterkin has an ability to withstand tremendous pressure and continually make saves in stressful circumstances for his team -- New York's 110-point regular season represented the third-highest total in history for the Original Six franchise. To me, last season was just the tip of the iceberg for Shesterkin -- he's going to be even better this season.
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