Rangers turn to Igor Shesterkin despite Alexandar Georgiev’s Islanders mastery

The Rangers plan to start Igor Shesterkin in net Sunday night despite the success Alexandar Georgiev has had against the Islanders.

Georgiev Friday’s 4-1 win at Nassau Coliseum, in which he kept the Rangers competitive despite not having seen game action since March 19.

But head coach David Quinn has been looking to test Shesterkin, who is considered to be the team’s No. 1 netminder, as the end of the regular season approaches. Since recovering from his groin injury, which sidelined him for 10 games, Shesterkin has gotten the starting nod in seven of the last nine games.

“Probably a decision we went back and forth on more than any this year, who to play in goal [Sunday],” Quinn said. “Shesty, I think his play overall has put him in this position where—Georgiev played a hell of a game the other night. But to me, it’s just [Shesterkin] has put himself in a position to get this opportunity.”

Over Shesterkin’s last seven starts, the Rangers have gone 4-2-1. The 25-year-old Russian has posted a 2.71 goals-against average over that span.

After Islanders netminder Semyon Varlamov struggled on Friday, there’s a possibility head coach Barry Trotz could deploy Ilya Sorokin. That would mean Shesterkin and Sorokin, who have been friends since they were 17, will go head to head in the NHL for the very first time.

Sorokin, the Islanders’ 78th-overall pick in 2014, starred for CSKA Moscow while Shesterkin started for rival SKA St. Petersburg when they were in the KHL. The two Russians have been linked for a majority of their hockey careers, which only grew stronger when they were both drafted by the New York rivals.

“We talked a lot on the phone, we’re friends,” Shesterkin said of Sorokin last July. “And I knew how many thoughts were going through his mind at that time, making this difficult decision [of leaving Russia for North America]. Thank God he chose this path. I will always support my friends and will greet him with a red carpet.”

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Rangers prospect Zac Jones helped UMass to its first national championship in program history Saturday night.

Jones, 20, scored one goal and dished three assists during the NCAA tournament, including a power-play goal in the semifinal game against Minnesota Duluth. In 29 games this season, the Rangers’ 2019 third-round pick registered nine goals and 15 assists.

“He’s had a terrific college career so far, he’s someone I’m a little bit familiar with watching him play before he got to UMass,” Quinn said Sunday. “He certainly has been a very, very good player there and we think very highly of him as an organization.”

When reached on Sunday by The Post, Jones’ advisor, Alexander Schaal, wouldn’t comment on the defenseman’s plans for next year. In February, Jones told The Post’s “Up in the Blue Seats” podcast that he wanted to return to UMass for his junior year. He said he believes it was “a marathon not a sprint” to develop and that he specifically chose the collegiate route to have up to four years to improve.

“Honestly, I want to come back next year,” he told The Post. “I don’t think I’m ready to play pro hockey. I don’t think I’m big enough yet for it and I think that extra year in college next year and this year, and a big summer this year, will help me.

“Hopefully [I’ll] be able to sign after my junior year, but if that doesn’t happen then so be it. I just want to play pro hockey when I’m ready to play at this level and then move on to the next.”