Andrei Vasilevskiy has won a Vezina Trophy and two Stanley Cups with the Tampa Bay Lightning. Igor Shesterkin is a finalist for the Vezina this year as he leads the New York Rangers in their pursuit of their first championship since 1994 and second in 82 years.

The Russian goalies will be front and center as the two-time defending champion Lightning and never-say-die Rangers meet in the Eastern Conference finals, beginning Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden.

“I think it’s unanimous they’re the two best goalies in the league,” said Rangers forward Barclay Goodrow, who played for the Lightning during their championship runs the last two years.

Tampa Bay captain Steven Stamkos knows the attention going into the series will be on the men in goal.

“We know what we have in our guy,” Stamkos said. “(Shesterkin) had a tremendous year in New York. Great regular season, and he’s on a really good run right now. But I think for us, no matter what goaltender we’ve played over the past couple years it’s not the main focus, we have to go out there and play our best.”

Asked who he thought was better between the two goalies, Goodrow simply said: “I’ll take Shesty all day.”

Vasilevskiy has a league-best 188 wins over the last five seasons, including a 39-18-5 mark this season with a 2.49 goals-against average and .916 save percentage. He’s 8-3 in these playoffs, allowing just four goals on 185 shots over the last five games, and his 57 career playoff wins tie him with Tuukka Rask for 17th on the all-time list.

“He’s the best goalie in the world right now,” Shesterkin said. “I think it will be a good battle.”

The 26-year-old Shesterkin was 36-13-4 with a 2.07 GAA and .935 save-percentage – both tops in the league – in his third season in the NHL. After struggling in Games 3 and 4 against Pittsburgh in the first round, he is 7-3 with a 2.09 GAA in the last 10 games.

“Great goalie, obviously a great season, a great regular season for him,” Vasilevskiy said. “Great challenge for us and for our team, but it’s not about one guy on the other side. It’s about the whole team, they’re pretty consistent, pretty complete team – offensively, defensively, good goalie. So great challenge for us.”

When asked how it feels to face a young Russian goalie, Vasilevskiy – who is finishing his eighth season in the NHL – noted their close age difference.

“I’m a young guy still,” said Vasilevskiy, who will turn 28 in July. “He’s like, what, just two years younger than me, so there’s not much difference. … Obviously I just have to step up and show him my best game.”

Both teams survived a seven-game matchup in first round – Tampa Bay outlasting Toronto and the Rangers rallying from a 3-1 series hole to beat Pittsburgh.

The Lightning then swept Florida while the Rangers again went seven games – coming back from 2-0 and 3-2 series deficits – to outlast Carolina to arrive at this matchup.

DEVILS: The New Jersey Devils have hired Dr. Angus Mugford as their senior vice president of player development and performance and promoted former Olympian Meghan Duggan to director of player development.

Mugford spent the previous seven years with the Toronto Blue Jays. He directed the creation and growth of one of Major League Baseball’s first sports science departments, integrating a team of medical specialists within Toronto’s player development system. His department focused on science, medicine, nutrition, psychology, strength and conditioning and performance goals.

Duggan joined the Devils last year as manager of player development. She will now manage all levels of the club’s development department, evaluating all on-ice and off-ice information.

Duggan won 11 medals for USA hockey, including an Olympic gold in 2018 when she was the captain. She was recently named President of Women’s Sports Foundation and is on the NHL’s Player Inclusion Committee.

BLUES: Goaltender Jordan Binnington acknowledged he threw an empty water bottle at Colorado Avalanche forward Nazem Kadri after Game 3 of the second-round series between the Western Conference rivals.

Binnington injured his left knee during a collision with Kadri and teammate Calle Rosen on May 21, left the ice and did not return for the rest of the series, which Colorado won in six games. Addressing reporters in St. Louis after doing end-of-season exit interviews, the 2019 Stanley Cup-winning netminder owned up to his role in the incident.

“I’m walking down the hallway, couldn’t find a recycling bin on my way down the hallway, and right before I walked into the locker room I see him kind of doing an interview there, smiling, laughing, and I’m there in a knee brace limping down the hallway and I just felt like it was a God-given opportunity,” Binnington said. “I could just stay silent and go in the room, or I could say something and just have him look me in the eye and understand what’s going on: (Give him) something to think about.”

Kadri at the time on TNT said, “I’m not sure if he just threw a water bottle at me or not.” Binnington said the empty bottle “landed like two feet from” Kadri.

“It is what it is,” Binnington said. “It’s hockey. It’s a competitive game.”

The NHL looked into the water bottle toss and decided not to punish Binnington, who could have been subject to a fine.

Kadri was the subject of racist threats on social media in the aftermath of injuring Binnington, which caught the attention of the league and St. Louis Police and was condemned by the Avalanche and Blues. He recorded a hat trick the next game.

HURRICANES: The Carolina Hurricanes are facing the challenging stretch of building a perennial Stanley Cup contender.

A second-round exit to the New York Rangers highlighted the need for more postseason goal scoring and better special-teams play. Yet the Hurricanes must decide how much to change after posting the league’s third-best record, a franchise-record 116 points and a second straight division title.

“Every year when this ends, it’s always tough,” Carolina Coach Rod Brind’Amour said after Monday’s Game 7 loss to the Rangers. “Tougher maybe because I felt like we were in a different spot this year. . And it’s another chance – I don’t want to say lost – but it’s another year where you don’t get that chance.”

The goal has gone from being relevant after a nine-year postseason drought to being elite in their current four-year run. Yet the Hurricanes have seen the past two seasons end in familiar setbacks: falling in their building in a series with home-ice advantage, losing the special-teams battle and stymied by an elite goaltender.

Last year it was Tampa Bay and Andrei Vasilevskiy on its way to a second straight Cup, with the Lightning beating the Hurricanes in a five-game second round series. This time, it was the Rangers and Igor Shesterkin beating a team that had won its first seven postseason home games but couldn’t win a road playoff game.

Brind’Amour said last year there was “a next step we’ve got to find.” It seems Carolina is still hunting for it.