Igor Shesterkin Caught His White Whale And Scored A Goalie Goal

The thing about all goalie goals is that they rock. There are roughly 175 feet and six prideful skaters between the promised land and any netminder bold enough to even attempt to reach it. There have been but 21 goalie goals, scored by 18 different goalies, in the entire history of the NHL. The thing about Thursday night’s goalie goal, specifically, is that no goalie since Ron Hextall has ever so clearly wanted it more than Igor Shesterkin.

He is also exceedingly deserving. He is in that classic New York Ranger situation of being one of the league’s elite stoppers, trapped on a team that does not seem capable of building a commensurate roster around him. Surely he thinks about how Henrik Lundqvist retired without a Cup. Surely he should get a little treat from time to time, something just for Igor. Often—notably often—that treat-seeking looks like firing a puck down the ice at an empty net.

He does it so often that home crowds start anticipating the attempt as soon as the opposing goalie heads to the bench. He does it so often that Kenny Albert predicted it 10 minutes before it happened last night. And he has come so close. “I feel like probably a dozen times I’ve been on the bench thinking ‘OK this one goes in,’ and he barely misses,” said Mika Zibanejad. Shesterkin has said he scored one in juniors and has been chasing that high ever since. But he never found paydirt until last night.