The final of the confrontation “Rangers” – “Carolina” turned out to be not very dramatic: the “blueshirts” in the seventh match confidently dealt with the “Keynes” – 6:2.

Although the denouement of the series did not have enough intrigue, but along its course there was both drama and its own characters. Rangers fans may disagree on which of their favorites is the main creator of success, but Carolina fans have made their choice – after the seventh match, the Cannes’ home arena chanted the name of Igor Shesterkin.

The Russian earned the respect of the opponent’s fans for a reason – he dragged the Rangers the entire series, and in the seventh match he repelled 37 shots out of 39.

Shesterkin against statistics

It’s hard to find anyone happier than Rangers fans these days, and before the decisive match, many Blueshirts fans didn’t believe in their team’s success. The pessimistic mood was caused by the phenomenal statistics of the Carolinas – the Keynes had six away defeats in a row, but at home they lost for the last time back in the regular season, already on April 14.

And the seventh match of the series against the “Rangers” “hurricane” had to be held at their home arena. In addition, the Carolinas have not lost in the seventh playoff game since 2006.

But still, the Rangers fans believed that it was not in vain that there was a bright comeback from 1-3 in the series with the Penguins, and the path to the seventh match with the Carolinas was not in vain. And to overshadow the magic of the home walls of the Carolinas, according to the fans of the Blueshirts, it was Shesterkin who was the leader in the NHL among his colleagues in many goalkeeping criteria.

Photo: © REUTERS/James Guillory-USA TODAY Sports

“New York” punished “Carolina” for rudeness and indiscipline

It seems that the Rangers and Carolina hockey players forgot that they went to the seventh game of the second round – the teams received eight penalty minutes in the first period for two. The Blueshirts seriously corrected their majority draw statistics, punishing their opponents twice for indiscipline. First, Adam Fox realized the numerical advantage, and then Chris Kreider scored in unequal compositions.

“Carolina”, on the other hand, failed both of their attempts – the “hurricane” could not break through Shesterkin. The Russian showed a phenomenal game, making 16 saves in the starting 20-minute.

Still, the nerve of the decisive match was felt. Hockey players played without skating, and the audience now and then applauded another powerful force. However, excessive rigidity led to injuries – defender Jacob Truba took down Seth Jarvis at full speed. The player after the power went to the locker room and did not return to the ice.

The Russian goalkeeper had to urgently go on the ice

And in the middle of the second period, Carolina again suffered losses – goalkeeper Antti Raanta was injured due to a sharp movement to the post. The Finnish goalkeeper was replaced by Pyotr Kochetkov, who has already become a favorite of the public in Carolina. But still, the Russian does not yet have much experience playing in the NHL.

Kochetkov calmly watched hockey from the bench, as the main keeper breaks down here. And now he has to go on the ice with a score of 0:2 in the seventh match of the conference semi-finals. In such a situation, any goalkeeper will be nervous. So Kochetkov came on as a substitute and missed after the second throw – Ryan Strom from the transfer of Artemy Panarin upset the Russian.

For the Carolinas, this was the beginning of the end, but still the “hurricanes” did not give up even in such a situation and tried to return to the game. All the hopes of fans and players of the “Kanes” fell down when, at the beginning of the final 20-minutes, Kreider scored a double.

After Kreider’s goal, the Rangers fans were so convinced of the positive outcome of the match that they already began to discuss Shesterkin’s statistics in matches with Tampa – the Russian played three games against the Lightning, in which he won three victories (including dry) and has 95.8% of shots saved.

“Hurricane” fell apart and stopped playing. Even when, in the middle of the third period, Carolina managed to convert the majority, it was clear from the faces of the hockey players that they did not believe in a comeback. This was also manifested in the fact that the Rangers answered the missed puck with a goal after 40 seconds.

Shesterkin delighted even the opponent’s fans

Carolina still managed to upset Shesterkin again – Max Domi scored the second goal against New York. An indicative moment is how Max Tai Domi’s father reacted to his son’s puck. The well-known tough guy sat stone-faced, realizing that there were practically no chances for his son’s team to win back.

And three minutes before the end of the period, Andrew Kopp scored the sixth goal against the Keynes, putting an end to the match – 6:2. Immediately after the final siren, all the Rangers hockey players went to congratulate Shesterkin, who saved 37 shots in the match and helped the Blueshirts go further. The Rangers hockey players were suddenly joined by … Carolina fans. Cannes fans chanted the name of the goaltender who had just eliminated their favorite club from the playoffs in a respect rarely seen. Shesterkin answered beautifully – he drove up to the opponent’s fans and knocked on the protective glass, thanking the audience.

Now all hockey fans are waiting for the confrontation between the two best goalkeepers in the NHL – Shesterkin and Andrey Vasilevsky from Tampa. And if Igor again helps the Rangers to go further, then a monument will be erected to him in New York.

NHL. Playoffs

Carolina Hurricanes (Raleigh) – New York Rangers (New York) – 2:6 (0:2, 0:1, 2:3)

Goals: Trochek 48:11 (bol.). Domi, 56:13. — Fox, 3:40 (bol.). Crider, 8:00 (bol.), 43:59. Strome, 36:19. Khytil, 48:51. Kopp, 57:08.

Score in the series – 3:4