No. 1 New York Rangers goaltender Igor Shesterkin has had a strong start to the season, but teammate Jaroslav Halak can’t say the same.

The former Montreal Canadiens are unable to buy a win despite his presence in a formation that could do major damage to the eastern federation of the National Hockey League (NHL). The 37-year-old Slovakian has a 0-3-1 record, a 3.48 clean sheet average and an .882 save percentage, stats that are the complete opposite of those of Shesterkin, the Vézina Trophy winner last season .

Halak had a particularly bad night on October 23, retiring five times in a 5-1 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets. He almost ended his losing streak on Sunday, except that a goal by Dominik Kubalik in overtime added to his frustration. After the 2:3 defeat, he repeatedly hit the net post with his racket, which broke into a thousand pieces.

“We didn’t win and this is all about winning. We lost again and even if we got one point, it’s better to get two,” he told the media after the duel.

“Whenever I get a chance to play, I try to help the team collect points and win games,” he said in simple words a few weeks earlier when asked about his problems.

A difficult career end?

The fact remains, however, that Halak has struggled to accumulate profits in recent years and the end of his NHL career may not be glorious, at least on an individual level. With the Vancouver Canucks in 2021-2022, he settled for four wins in 17 games as a backup for goaltender Thatcher Demko. Last year he won nine of the 19 games in which he appeared.

The presence of Shesterkin, who is 6-1-2, should significantly reduce his number of games in goal. The Rangers’ next two-day series is scheduled for Saturday and Sunday. The Blueshirts will visit the Nashville Predators before hosting the Arizona Coyotes.