The countdown, more than five years in the making, arrived at 10:10 of the second period of the Rangers’ exhibition opener against the Devils at the Garden on Wednesday.
That is when 23-year-old Igor Shesterkin, the Moscow-born 118th-overall selection of the 2014 entry draft, replaced Alexandar Georgiev in nets and thus made his quasi-varsity debut in Blue.
The goaltender has represented his native land in the World Championships. He has been in nets in KHL playoff games for SKA St. Petersburg.
Yet this …
“It is [such an] important game for me,” the Moscow native told The Post, without aid of an interpreter, before the game. “My first time at MSG. So I am a little bit nervous. I want to play really well. From the time when I was drafted, it has been my goal to play for Rangers.
“All the years, I have wanted this.”
Shesterkin did fine, surrendering one goal on 13 shots in 27:28 of work before being pulled for the extra attacker in the Rangers’ 4-3 loss. He seemed spry and technically sound, beaten only by Brett Seney’s third-period rebound off a blocker save on John Hayden from a sharp angle from the right.
He made a nifty left pad save on Nico Hischier with 5:10 remaining in the second period and soon after reached back into the crease to cover the puck after Nikita Gusev had rung one off the left post. It was a nimble and heady maneuver, and after all these years of waiting for the netminder, the crowd responded with chants of “Igor, Igor.”
You of course know Shesterkin has long been considered the heir apparent to Henrik Lundqvist. The line of succession is no longer so clear or immediate, given Georgiev’s excellent play last season. There is also the understood degree of difficulty in making the transition from the large European rinks to the North American game.
Still, nothing that has transpired since Shesterkin first reported for duty a couple of weeks ago has dimmed his future star or wounded the goaltender’s confidence.
“It’s my first time playing on smaller rinks, so it has been a little bit hard for me,” Shesterkin said. “I would like to be better every day, so I am working hard and am getting more comfortable all the time with this transition.”
Shesterkin, who will turn 24 on Dec. 30, has been working assiduously with goaltending coach Benoit Allaire. They communicate through goalie-speak, which is the same language used when Henrik Lundqvist made the transition from Sweden during his rookie 2005 NHL training camp.
“I remember that I was a little too aggressive my first couple of weeks before Benny pulled me back,” Lundqvist said. “I had to adjust. But I felt pretty comfortable, pretty fast.