A new cheer was introduced during the Rangers’ emphatic Game 1 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Wednesday, when fans at Madison Square Garden demonstrated their devotion to their own Russian goalie over the Lightning’s Russian goalie.
“Igor’s better,” they chanted, over and over.
In that game, Igor Shesterkin, from Moscow, was indeed better than Andrei Vasilevskiy, from Tyumen. But both are generally exceptional goaltenders, arguably the two best in hockey right now. They are also part of an impressive crop of good young Russian goalies sprinkled throughout the N.H.L. — and in particular, the Eastern Conference.