April 11, 2021 will be a date to remember for the Rangers and Islanders rivalry, for it was the day when goaltenders Igor Shesterkin and Ilya Sorokin went head-to-head in the NHL for the very first time.

The two young netminders of New York hockey’s future, who have been buddies, competitors and, at one point, Russian national team teammates, squared off at the highest level on Sunday night after years and years of being linked.

The first of many.

Sorokin took the first victory of what will likely be a long-standing feud between the two, after the Islanders won it 3-2 in overtime behind Ryan Pulock’s first goal of the season.

It was only fitting that their first NHL matchup came down to sudden-death overtime. After Shesterkin gave up two goals in the first and Sorokin allowed two in the second, both traded big-time saves to keep their teams alive through the final 20 minutes.

Shesterkin said back in July that he would greet his friend “with a red carpet,” and the 25-year-olds could be seen at center ice during warm-ups of the Rangers’ win on Friday having that friendly chat. But on Sunday, there was no cordial exchange, it was game on.

“It’s certainly a big moment because we started playing against each other in junior leagues,” said Sorokin, who turned aside 24 of the 26 shots he faced, of Shesterkin, who had 29 saves. “And now, we play in the NHL. It’s a big moment for me, and for him, I think.”

While Rangers and Islanders fans clamored for them as they waited for them to become NHL ready, Shesterkin starred for SKA St. Petersburg and Sorokin for rival CSKA Moscow in Russia’s Kontinental Hockey League. They faced each other 11 times in the KHL, with Shesterkin taking seven wins and Sorokin earning four.

But they have always acknowledged that they make each other better. It certainly makes the Rangers-Islanders rivalry even better.

“Any time you’ve got two goalies of that magnitude, it certainly spices up the rivalry,” Rangers head coach David Quinn said. “But I don’t know how much more intense the rivalry can get. We’re just glad we’ve got our guy.”

The Rangers continued their trend of shining in the middle frame, clawing back from a 2-0 hole to tie the game with unlikely goals defensemen Libor Hajek and Brendan Smith.

The Islanders, who are tied with the Capitals for first in the East, came out with the fury of a team looking to avenge its embarrassing loss on Friday. And a delay of game penalty on Chris Kreider gifted the Isles an early power play, which Kyle Palmieri capitalized on for his first goal with the Islanders less than two minutes into the game.

Quinn jumbled up his lines early and then several times throughout the game to try and get something going, plugging Vitali Kravtsov on every line at least once and bumping Kreider down to the fourth for a few shifts.

Jean-Gabriel Pageau joined a growing list of players who have scored a last-second goal on the Rangers this season, one-timing the puck past Shesterkin with 7.6 seconds left in the first for the 2-0 lead.

With one point from the overtime loss, the Rangers are now four points behind the Bruins, who were clobbered by the Capitals on Sunday and have two games in hand. The Islanders not only took a 3-2 lead in the series with the Blueshirts, but needed the win to stay even with Washington.

Round 5 of the Battle of New York goes to the Island.