Rangers' Igor Shesterkin puts his name in the great Russian goalie conversation

After home games, the Rangers usually have an interpreter on hand who speaks Russian and can translate interviews for Artemi Panarin or Igor Shesterkin, if needed. On Sunday, after he made 38 saves in the Rangers’ 4-0 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning and goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy, Shesterkin was asked if he gets excited playing against other top Russian goalies.

He didn’t need the interpreter’s help on that question.

"Of course,’’ he said.

Vasilevskiy, the Vezina Trophy winner as the NHL’s top goalie in 2018-19 and the Conn Smythe winner as the playoffs MVP in 2021, is generally considered to be the best goalie in the NHL, and by extension, the world. He likely would have been Russia’s No. 1 goalie in the Olympics, had the NHL not reversed course and decided not to send its players to Beijing in February.

Shesterkin probably would have been on the Russian team as well, though he wasn’t necessarily a lock; Florida’s Sergei Bobrovsky is having a nice bounce-back season for the Panthers, and Shesterkin’s pal, Ilya Sorokin, has been one of the few bright spots for the Islanders. Two of those three likely would have backed up Vasilevskiy.

Shesterkin, though, has better numbers than all of them this season. Entering Monday’s game against the Edmonton Oilers at Madison Square Garden, Shesterkin, 26, was 15-4-2 with a 2.09 goals-against average and a .936 save percentage that was second in the league (behind Toronto's Jack Campbell, who had a .939) for goalies with more than 10 appearances.

Vasilevskiy, 27, was 17-5-3, with a 2.21 GAA and .925 save percentage. His goals-against average and save percentage, if they stay the same the rest of the season, would be career bests.

Shesterkin said he doesn’t know Vasilevskiy well. They’ve crossed paths in a few Team Russia training camps, but they haven’t talked much.

"I've heard a lot about him,’’ Shesterkin said, through the interpreter, of Vasilevskiy. "I've heard he's obviously a great guy, and as you can see by his playing, one of the best players. So, it definitely felt nice to beat him and Tampa as well.’’

Vasilevskiy has been in the NHL since 2014-15 and has been the model of consistency, with a save percentage that has never been below .910 but never above .925. He’s played 327 games and won 207 of them. His game isn’t about flashy saves, or gaudy statistics. At 6-3, 225, he fills the net, and, playing behind the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions, he rarely has to make the unbelievable save — just the timely ones that help his team win games.

Shesterkin is the up-and-comer, in his third season in the league. He’s smaller (6-1, 189), seems quicker, and he does make the unbelievable saves, the ones that keep his team in the games and help them win when maybe they don’t deserve to. He has 41 wins in 68 games with save percentages of .932, .916 and this year’s .936.

And he’s getting better.

Sunday’s game was his third since coming off a stint on injured reserve because of a groin injury, and he got better and better in each one.

"Yep, definitely,’’ Rangers coach Gerard Gallant said of Shesterkin. "And that's what you expect. I mean, you know, the guy was out for quite a while [26 days]. But he was excellent [Sunday].’’

Shesterkin agreed his performance Sunday against Tampa "was my best game’’ since coming back. But he believes he has more to give.

"I wouldn't say anything in particular got better,’’ he said of his game. "I think I need to play even better than I did today.’’

By Colin Stephenson

colin.stephenson@newsday.comColinSNewsday

Colin Stephenson covers the Rangers for Newsday. He has spent more than two decades covering the NHL and just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.