Igor Shesterkin, Ilya Sorokin put friendship aside as Rangers prepare to visit Islanders
Igor Shesterkin of the New York Rangers and Ilya Sorokin of the New York Islanders are buddies – most of the time.
The two Russian goalies have known one another since they were 16. They’ve played against each other in the KHL (Shesterkin for St. Petersburg; Sorokin for CSKA Moscow) and together on several Russian national teams over the years. Sorokin is the godfather to Shesterkin’s child and spent Christmas at Shesterkin’s house.
The two even got to play together during the 2023 NHL All-Star Weekend, and they’ve trained together in Russia during the offseason – even combining to push a car together as part of their workout regimen in the summer of 2023.
But they’ll put their friendship on hold Tuesday night when Shesterkin and the Rangers head to UBS Arena for the first of two games in a seven-day span against Sorokin and the Islanders.
It’s been an up-and-down season for both goaltenders, who’ve established themselves among the best in the NHL. Shesterkin won the Vezina Trophy in 2022 and Sorokin was a finalist in 2023, when Linus Ullmark — then of the Boston Bruins — won the award.
Both also signed massive long-term contracts, befitting their status. Sorokin is in the first season of an eight-year contract that carries an average annual value of $8.5 million. In December, the Rangers laid out even more money to keep Shesterkin off the free agent market this summer, signing him to an eight-year, $92 million deal ($11.5 million AAV, the most ever for an NHL goalie) that kicks in next season.
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Igor Shesterkin, Ilya Sorokin having inconsistent seasons
It hasn’t been a terrific season for either goaltender nor his team, each scrambling to earn one of the two wild-card playoff berths in the Eastern Conference.
Despite a brilliant 36-save performance Sunday in the Rangers’ 5-3 road victory against the Pittsburgh Penguins, Shesterkin is 19-20-2 with career worsts in goals-against average (2.98) and save percentage (.903). That’s quite a comedown from last season, when he overcame a midseason slump to finish 36-17-2 with a 2.58 GAA and .913 save percentage.
He was the biggest reason the Rangers won the Presidents’ Trophy as the NHL regular-season champion in 2023-24. Shesterkin also was a major difference maker in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, getting the Rangers within two victories of their first trip to the Final since 2014.
But his gem in Pittsburgh came less than 24 hours after he allowed five goals in the first 18:21 of what became an 8-2 loss to the Sabres in Buffalo. Though he’s had dominant stretches, Shesterkin also has struggled at times behind a leaky defense. He’s allowed four or more goals 14 times this season, and when asked last Thursday to appraise his play, he replied simply: “Not good so far.”
The same could be said for Sorokin, who’s lost his past three starts and allowed four or more goals in each, including a 4-3 home loss to the Dallas Stars on Sunday. Before that, he won seven in a row, allowing a total of seven goals. He was named the NHL First Star for the week ending Feb. 2.
For the season, he’s 20-17-4 with a 2.71 GAA and a .907 save percentage.
Unlike Shesterkin, who has a quality backup in Jonathan Quick, Sorokin is flying solo. Semyon Varlamov, the Isles No. 2 for the past few seasons, hasn’t played since late November because of a lower-body injury; the Islanders said in early February that he’ll remain out indefinitely. Marcus Hogberg played superbly in five starts after the Christmas break before sustaining an upper-body injury on Jan. 22 and hasn’t played since.
That’s left the organization’s No. 4 goalie, Jakub Skarek, as Sorokin’s backup – coach Patrick Roy opted to use him against the Florida Panthers on Feb. 2 in the second half of a back-to-back set; he was unimpressive in a 6-3 loss.
Igor Shesterkin, Ilya Sorokin have struggled in Rangers-Islanders series
All that said, the spotlight will be on the two besties when the Rangers visit the Islanders on Tuesday and for the MSG rematch March 3.
What makes it the more intriguing is that neither Shesterkin nor Sorokin has been all that great in these Rangers-Islanders games over the years.
Shesterkin got the win when the Rangers defeated Sorokin and the Islanders 5-2 at Madison Square Garden on Nov. 2 but has a losing career record against them – he’s 6-8-2 with a 3.02 GAA and .895 save percentage.
Sorokin is 3-4-2 against the Rangers with a 3.20 GAA and .907 save percentage. He is 0-3-2 in his past five decisions against the Rangers, each against Shesterkin.
His last win against the Rangers was a 41-save shutout in a 3-0 win on Long Island on Oct. 26, 2022, with Jaroslav Halak in goal for the Rangers.
With the Rangers in 11th place in the East, two points out of the second wild card and three points ahead of the Islanders, it’s a game each team has to have. They’ll need their star goaltenders to be at their best. Friendships can wait for a bit when there’s a playoff race afoot.
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