"Igor outplayed again by an inferior goalie": Blueshirts fans pile on $92,000,000 NY Rangers goalie after 3-1 loss to Oilers

NY Rangers fans reacted after their 3-1 loss to the Edmonton Oilers. Many blamed Igor Shesterkin, who signed an eight-year, $92 million contract in December 2024. The loss kept the Rangers in the final wild-card spot with 72 points in 68 games.

The Rangers played well, but defensive mistakes cost them. Connor McDavid sealed the win with a late wrist shot past Shesterkin. Viktor Arvidsson also scored when his shot deflected off Zac Jones' stick. Fans felt Shesterkin should have stopped both shots.

Shesterkin started on back-to-back nights for the fifth time in his career. The Rangers have 14 games left, with 10 against playoff teams.

The NY Rangers shared the final score on X (formerly Twitter), and fans criticized Shesterkin and the power play.

"Igor sucks - tonight is on him. Out PP also sucks. Done with the east west. And I have never seen so many back to backs in a month. I think the rangers have 4 this month. Horrendous schedule," a fan said.

"Bad loss. We played well in that 3rd period but couldn't get the puck in the net despite all the pressure in the O-Zone. Our $11.5m goalie gave up two goals that should've been stopped. That's NINE goals allowed in 3P/OT his last six starts. Unacceptable. On to the next," another fan wrote.

"Igor outplayed again by an inferior goalie. The inconsistency has to stop. Not to say it’s all on him, but for his contract he needs to be better. He needed to save the second and third goal against. I say all this as a big fan of Igor.," a fan tweeted.

"Not a terrible game. The defense actually was great for the most part, but they made mistakes towards the end of the game, which led to McDavid's goal. I feel like that's a common issue with this team. Whenever the defense has a great game, they make mistakes towards the end, win," one user said.

"For Igor’s standards, that still has to be saved from that angle," a fan said.

"Bad call leads to the PPG 1-0. Igor probably should have had that rush 2-1. McDavid is McDavid 3-1. Tough loss," another fan commented.

NY Rangers coach Peter Laviolette talked about the loss to Oilers

Corey Perry scored first for Edmonton 43 seconds into the game. He tipped Leon Draisaitl’s shot, then scored on the rebound. Will Cuylle tied it 1-1 for the NY Rangers at 5:00 of the second period.

"I thought it was a tight hockey game, a good hockey game going into the third period," Coach Peter Laviolette said, via NHL.com. "They scored one. We pressured, we had lots of chances, lots of look, couldn't get the next one to fall."

Viktor Arvidsson and Connor McDavid scored to secure Edmonton’s win.