Carolina Hurricanes v New York Rangers - Game Five — Will Igor Shesterkin lead the New York Rangers to the Stanley Cup Final?

3 key players who can lead New York Rangers to victory in 2024 NHL Eastern Conference Finals

Modified May 22, 2024 17:09 GMT

The New York Rangers are back in the Eastern Conference Final for the second time in three seasons. This year, they were the NHL's top team, capturing the Presidents' Trophy for the first time since 2014-15.

It's been 30 years since the club's last Stanley Cup, and this season, the Rangers are following a path similar to that of the previous title winners.

With a deep lineup of superstars like Artemi Panarin, Chris Kreider, Adam Fox, Vincent Trocheck, and Igor Shesterkin, the best team in the league has a chance to advance one more round and be a step closer to a parade down Broadway in June.

3 key players who can lead New York Rangers to victory in 2024 NHL Eastern Conference Finals

#3. Chris Kreider

Kreider had 39 goals and 75 points in 82 regular season games, collecting his 300th career goal. He had three points with two goals in the opening-round series against the Washington Capitals.

He collected another two goals in the first five games of the series with the Carolina Hurricanes before singlehandedly pushing the Rangers into the Eastern Conference Final with a natural hat trick in Game 6.

Down 3-1 in the third period, Kreider scored three straight goals and rallied the team to a 5-3 victory, further cementing his legacy as one of New York's best players of all time. If the Rangers want to play for the Stanley Cup in two weeks, Kreider must continue playing at an elite level.

When he does, he elevates everyone around him, and his teammates rally around the longest-tenured skater in the lineup, who is the heart and soul of the organization.

#2. Artemi Panarin

Panarin almost broke the Rangers franchise record of 123 points, held by Jaromir Jagr, with 120 in 2023-24. In the series against the Capitals, he had the exact point total as Kreider, with two goals and three points.

When the Rangers jumped out to a 3-0 series lead against the Hurricanes, Panarin was on fire with six points in those three games before going quiet with no points and a minus-five rating in the back-to-back losses.

In Game 6, with a chance to eliminate Carolina, he had two helpers to bump up his point total to 11 in 10 games, but he is still minus two for the playoffs.

Considering Panarin has 29 career points against the Panthers, the Rangers' success in this series will depend on whether their top player can rise to the occasion and be the decisive factor in a matchup with superstars on both teams.

#1. Igor Shesterkin

The Eastern Conference Final will feature two of the best Russian netminders in the NHL, Sergei Bobrovsky and Igor Shesterkin, going head-to-head. Statistically, they are a combined 16-5 with a .912 save percentage and a 2.63 goals-against average in 21 playoff games.

Ultimately, this means they make the saves when their teammates let shots through and do not give up goals. Although Shesterkin has better playoff numbers in 2023-24, Bobrovsky is a Vezina Trophy finalist for the best goalie in the regular season, an award they are both familiar with, as they have won it three times.

Last year, Bobrovsky led the Panthers to the Stanley Cup Final, a series that Shesterkin has yet to play in. That means 2024 is the year Shesterkin can silence the critics and prove he is one of, if not the best goalie in the world.

Even though the Rangers had an easy matchup in Round 1, they were pushed to edge against the Hurricanes, with Shesterkin bailing them out at critical moments.

The Rangers will need their all-world netminder to be at his best to get four wins closer to a championship.