April 11, 2021 will be a memorable date for the Rangers and Islanders rivalry, as it was the day Igor Shesterkin and Ilya Sorokin entered the NHL for the first time.
The two young henchmen of the future of hockey in New York, who were friends, competitors and, at one point, teammates of the Russian national team, split at the highest level on Sunday night after years and years of relationships.
The first of many.
Sorokin got the first victory of what will probably be a long battle between the two, after the islanders won it 3-2 in overtime behind Ryan Pulock’s first goal of the season.
It was fitting that their first NHL game be reduced to overtime with a sudden death. After Shesterkin gave up two goals in the first and Sorokin allowed two in the second, both traded big saves to keep their teams alive for the last 20 minutes.
Shesterkin said in July that he would greet his friend “with a red carpet,” and the 25-year-old could be seen on the central ice during the Rangers’ warm-ups on Friday, wearing that friendly chat. But on Sunday, there was no cordial exchange, it was the game on.
“It’s definitely an important moment because we started playing against each other in the junior leagues,” said Sorokin, who rejected 24 of Shesterkin’s 26 saves, which had 29 saves. . “And now we’re playing in the NHL. It’s an important moment for me, and for him, I think. ”
While Rangers and Islanders fans demanded as they waited to be ready for the NHL, Shesterkin played for SKA St. Petersburg and Sorokin for rival CSKA Moscow in the Russian Continental Hockey League. They faced off 11 times in the KHL, with Shesterkin winning seven and Sorokin winning four.
But they have always acknowledged that they are improving each other. It definitely improves the Rangers-Islanders rivalry.
“Every time you have two goalkeepers of such magnitude, it certainly spices up the rivalry,” said Rangers head coach David Quinn. “But I don’t know how intense the rivalry can become. We’re glad we caught our guy. “
The Rangers continued their tendency to shine in the middle of the frame, returning from a 2-0 hole to tie the game with the unlikely goal defenders Libor Hajek and Brendan Smith.
The Islanders, who are level with the Capitals for the first time in the East, came out in the rage of a team that wanted to avenge its embarrassing loss on Friday. And a late penalty kick on Chris Kreider gave the Islands an early power play, which Kyle Palmieri capitalized on for his first goal with the Islanders less than two minutes into the game.
Quinn shuffled her rows earlier and then several times throughout the game to try to end something, connecting Vitali Kravtsov to each line at least once and hitting Kreider until the fourth for a few shifts.
Jean-Gabriel Pageau joined a growing list of players who scored a last-second goal at the Rangers this season, only once in front of Shesterkin, with 7.6 seconds left in the first for a 2-0 lead.
With one point from losing overtime, the Rangers are now four points behind the Bruins, who were charged on Sunday by the Capitals and have two games in hand. The Islanders not only took a 3-2 lead in the series with the Blueshirts, but needed a victory to stay even with Washington.
Round 5 of the Battle of New York goes to the island.