Knowing that 'we had to win,' goaltender Igor Shesterkin leads New York Rangers in Game 6

NEW YORK — New York Rangers goaltender Igor Shesterkin did it all in Saturday's Game 6 win over the Carolina Hurricanes. Not only did he make 37 saves, he had as many assists as his opponents had goals at Madison Square Garden.

«Tonight was an important game. We had to win and that's exactly what we did,» the netminder said through an interpreter after New York's 5-2 win, forcing a Game 7 on Monday night back in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Shesterkin has a .926 save percentage and a 2.74 goals-against average in 13 playoff games, and is now 6-1 at Madison Square Garden with a .949 save percentage and a 2.04 goals-against average.

But it was his unexpected offense that highlighted his Game 6 win. He assisted on Mike Zibanejad's first-period power-play goal, his second assist of the playoffs. He notched his third postseason assist on Filip Chytil's second-period goal that extended the Rangers' lead to 4-1.

«Honestly, I think it was mostly the guys who did all the work,» Shesterkin said. «I just left them the puck and they delivered.»

In the win, he became the first Rangers goaltender with two or more assists in any regular season or postseason game since Mike Richter had two helpers in an October 1992 contest against the Quebec Nordiques.

«Honestly, it's always great to have a goalie whose next step is to start scoring goals,» Rangers winger Artemi Panarin joked.

Coach Gerard Gallant said the two assists were «huge» for the Rangers. «I think he was trying to get three there in the third period when he passed it up the middle,» he said.

Shesterkin also made some key saves in the game, including 15 stops in the first period. That included a save on a Sebastian Aho breakaway and then another on a Teuvo Teravainen follow-up shot.