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.