Paul Maurice praises Igor Shesterkin's performance in ECF.

In spite of the fact that the New York Rangers were eliminated in 6 games in the Eastern Conference Final at the hands of the Florida Panthers on Saturday night, there is one Ranger who has received nothing but praise since his team was eliminated.

That man is of course Rangers star goaltender Igor Shesterkin, who stood on his head in these Stanley Cup playoffs in an effort to give his team the best possible chance of accomplishing the ultimate goal, winning a Stanley Cup. Although Shesterkin left it all on the ice he and the Rangers would come up short in the end, but his heroic efforts have not gone unnoticed.

Shesterkin has received a ton of praise following the loss last night, all of it well deserved, but perhaps none of that praise will be more meaningful than the praise that came from his opponents in the series. Following the conclusion of Game 6, Florida Panthers head coach Paul Maurice was asked about what stood out about this particular iteration of the New York Rangers, and Maurice went into a lengthy comment about the Rangers goaltender.

"I also thought that Igor Shesterkin... I haven't seen a series by a goaltender like that since Jose Theodore in 2002. He won the Hart Trophy that year."

Maurice even laid out some examples of why he thought Shesterkin was terrific in this series.

"We got in alone at least four times in games 1 through 5 and six times in one game," said Maurice. "We got nothing. He was brilliant in this series."

I'm sure that will do little to temper the disappointment Shesterkin is feeling right now, but he certainly has nothing to be ashamed about when it comes to his effort in the Eastern Conference Final.