Igor Shesterkin put the puck into an empty Tampa Bay net from his own crease on Thursday, becoming the first goaltender in the New York Rangers‘ 99-year history to score a goal. Among the people congratulating him was the goaltender who spent 15 years in that same net without ever managing it.
Henrik Lundqvist kept it brief.
“Igor the goal scorer 😎 It was just a matter of time,” Lundqvist wrote on X.
The approval carries some weight. Lundqvist is the most accomplished goaltender in franchise history by almost any measure, holding Rangers records for wins (459), games played (887), shutouts (64) and save percentage. He won the Vezina Trophy in 2011-12, was a finalist five times, took Sweden to Olympic gold in 2006, had his No. 30 raised to the rafters at Madison Square Garden in January 2022 and entered the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2023.
How many Rangers goalies have scored a goal?
Across 93 different goaltenders since the club entered the league in 1926-27, Shesterkin stands alone. Lundqvist’s 887 games in that net produced a great deal, but never a goal, which is part of what makes his reaction land.
There’s also a direct line between the two men. Lundqvist’s final seasons in New York were spent handing the job over to Shesterkin, and he has worked as an analyst on MSG Network since retiring, watching his successor’s career from the studio.
READ MORE: Igor Shesterkin’s reaction to his goal was perfect
The “matter of time” part wasn’t idle either. Shesterkin has spoken for years about wanting a goal, having scored one as a 19-year-old with Spartak Moscow in Russia’s junior MHL in 2013, and Mika Zibanejad said afterwards that he’d watched him come close a dozen times.
Shesterkin himself didn’t see it go in.
“I didn’t see the puck go across the line,” he said. “Then everyone started jumping on me.”
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