Why the Rangers Aren’t Collapsing Without Igor Shesterkin

Igor Shesterkin is out for the season, and the New York Rangers are still 6-2-0. Jim Cerny opens with why the show missed last week and then digs into what the injury really costs this team, and why these Rangers look nothing like the soft group from two seasons ago.He explains how Mike Sullivan has built a five-man defensive structure, how Sean Durzi and Marcus Pettersson stabilized the second pair, and why 18-year-old Alberts Šmits is already a real part of the third pair. He also covers Alexis Lafrenière’s league-leading seven goals and Pavel Dorofeyev’s slow start, and he makes the case for why he isn’t giving up on Dorofeyev.Then comes the news of the day: Cole Beaudoin goes back to Hartford and Justin Dowling is recalled. Jim also lays out the goalie market with Jordan Binnington, Philipp Grubauer and Darcy Kuemper, explains why Connor Hellebuyck isn’t coming, and makes the case for letting Garand run with the job while Joonas Korpisalo recovers. The show closes with the Devils and Blue Jackets this week and a preview of live shows coming to the city.In this episode:Shesterkin’s season-ending injury and what it means beyond this yearWhy the Rangers have bought in defensively under SullivanDurzi, Pettersson, Schneider and Šmits on the back endLafrenière’s hot streak and the Kartye-Miller lineDorofeyev’s struggles and the third line of Cuylle, Laba and TolvanenBeaudoin, Dowling and the fourth-line center questionGarand’s case as the starter and the goalie trade marketSubscribe to Rink Rap wherever you listen, and read more at ForeverBlueshirts.com. Follow Jim on X at @JimCerny.#Rangers #NYR #NewYorkRangers #RinkRap #ForeverBlueshirts #IgorShesterkin #DylanGarand #NHL #RangersPodcast #LetsGoRangersChapters0:00 Welcome to Rink Rap 0:52 Why there was no extra show last week 2:44 Covering the Igor news from a library 3:11 Igor Shesterkin is out for the season 4:34 The injuries are starting to add up 5:15 A wasted year for a goalie in his prime 5:51 No excuses: the Mike Sullivan Rangers 7:16 These are not the soft Rangers 9:11 So what’s actually different this year? 9:19 Durzi and Pettersson fix the second pair 11:31 6-2-0 and a total defensive buy-in 13:09 Garand’s first two starts without Igor 15:10 Tampa: Garand’s biggest test yet 16:00 Schneider and the improved third pair 16:17 Alberts Šmits is a revelation 19:12 Five-man units and fewer breakdowns 21:40 You no longer expect something bad to happen 22:41 Lafrenière leads the league with seven goals 26:00 Winning without Dorofeyev, Miller or Zibanejad scoring 27:36 Pavel Dorofeyev is frustrated and frustrating 29:51 Why Jim isn’t giving up on him 33:18 Cuylle, Laba and Tolvanen: the third line works 39:25 Carolina, Philadelphia and the Metro mush 42:57 Banking points and reclaiming the Garden 44:01 Beaudoin goes down, Dowling comes up 47:40 Do the Rangers need a fourth-line center? 49:25 Goalie depth: Korpisalo, Martin and Tung 50:12 Binnington, Grubauer, Kuemper: realistic targets? 55:29 Why Hellebuyck isn’t coming 56:15 Why Garand rises in big games 1:00:23 Devils and Blue Jackets this week 1:02:54 Live shows coming to the city