Igor Shesterkin returns from COVID-19 protocol

SAN JOSE, Calif. — Goaltending has not been a problem for the Rangers on this road trip. Alexandar Georgiev has played well, done his job and given them a chance to win.

But seeing Igor Shesterkin on the ice for the morning skate Thursday before their late game against the Sharks certainly gave the Rangers a welcome lift.

"Of course,’’ defenseman Adam Fox said. "I think whenever you see a guy who has an impact that he does on our team, it gives everyone a little jolt . . . I think Georgie’s played really, really well. And, you know, either one of those two we have confidence in. But you see what Igor can do. [And] whenever you get a regular back and someone like him, I think it obviously boosts the team a little bit.’’

Shesterkin made the start Thursday night against the Sharks.

Shesterkin officially exited COVID-19 protocol on Thursday a week after he entered it in Las Vegas, where the Rangers opened the current road trip with a 5-1 loss to the Golden Knights. Georgiev started that game and was the Rangers’ best player, stopping 30 of 35 shots while his teammates collapsed for the final 35 minutes.

Georgiev also started in the 4-1 win over the Ducks on Saturday and the 3-1 loss to the Kings on Monday in which he stopped 36 of 38 shots).

All the while, Shesterkin (15-4-2, 2.09 goals-against average, .936 save percentage) was isolated from the team. According to acting head coach Kris Knoblauch, Shesterkin skated by himself in New York on Wednesday before joining the team in San Jose.

When Knoblauch spoke to reporters Thursday morning, he said he would consult with coach Gerard Gallant, who remained in COVID protocol, and decide whether Shesterkin would start against the Sharks.

Georgiev (7-5-2, 2.71 GAA, .908 save percentage) stayed on the ice late after the skate, working extra with the scratches and taxi squad players.

Knoblauch, the coach of the Rangers’ AHL Hartford Wolf Pack, spoke glowingly of Shesterkin, whom he coached in Hartford for the first half of the 2019-20 season, the goalie’s first season in North America.

"I don’t think he gets enough attention,’’ Knoblauch said. "I know, probably around New York he does, but around the NHL, when you talk about the elite goalies in the league, maybe he gets mentioned once in a while. But I think he should be in that conversation all the time.’’

Knoblauch was especially impressed by the attitude and work ethic Shesterkin showed while playing for Hartford after all he had accomplished in Russia.

"Here’s a guy who had so much success in the KHL coming over to North America, expecting to be in the NHL, [and] he’s going to be in Hartford,’’ he said. "The Rangers’ organization knows, a lot of times those players aren’t very happy with that, want to go back [to Russia].’’

Shesterkin’s time in Hartford with a positive attitude was in contrast with forward Vitaly Kravtsov, who went to Hartford with the goalie but balked at playing in the AHL. He balked again when he was assigned there last fall.

Kravtsov left the Rangers and went back to Russia both times. Shesterkin stayed, played at an AHL All-Star level in Hartford, was called up to the Rangers in the second half of the season and eventually replaced Henrik Lundqvist as the Blueshirts’ No. 1 goaltender.

This season, Shesterkin carried the Rangers in the first month or two until the team’s play finally improved in November. He has had to miss time, though, first going on injured reserve with a lower-body injury in early December and then being shut down because of COVID-19.

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.