Shesterkin leaves his crease and hits Jarvis in Game 6.

New York Rangers goaltender Igor Shesterkin is having himself quite a night, but during the closing minutes of the second period he had what some may have perceived as a bit of a mental lapse.

There was just a little over 2 minutes left in the second period when Shesterkin delivered what I would describe as a relatively weak hit and/or shove to Carolina Hurricanes rookie forward Seth Jarvis. It was enough to knock Jarvis off of his skates though and perhaps more importantly it would send the Hurricanes onto the powerplay for 2 minutes, seemingly making this a very poor decision on the part of the Rangers goaltender.

In reality though this may have actually been the correct decision on the part of Shesterkin, although that may differ based on who you ask. Prior to Shesterkin forcing a stoppage in play with his interference penalty, there were members of the Rangers that had been on the ice for well over 2 minutes and it was clear that the Rangers were exhausted and pinned deep in their own zone. While it is certainly possible that Shesterkin merely let his frustrations get the best of him, given the added context I also think it's very possible that Shesterkin intentionally took the penalty in order to give his guys a rest, even if it meant 2 minutes on the penalty kill.

Here's a look at the hit on Jarvis:

Shesterkin has been very good for the Rangers tonight in Game 6 with 2 points, 30 of a possible 32 saves so far, and perhaps even a very smart penalty to add on top of it.