NHL rivals come together as Ilya Sorokin and Igor Shesterkin push an SUV through a parking lot!

While the teams they play for hate each other, the friendship between New York Rangers goalie Igor Shesterkin and his New York Islanders counterpart Ilya Sorokin has continued to grow in recent years.

The Russian netminders have been at the top of their respective games in recent years – with Shesterkin winning the NHL’s Vezina Trophy as the best goaltender in 2022 and Sorokin finishing runner up for the same award this year.

But even though they’re in the offseason, that doesn’t mean they’re stepping away from their training.

A video posted to Shesterkin’s Instagram Stories shows the pair pushing a BMW SUV through a parking lot through what seems to be a sunny location.

The pair are close to each other, so it’s not shocking to see them training together.

Even though the Russian netminders play for rival teams, off the ice, the pair are good friends

Both the goaltenders were on the losing end of handshake lines these playoffs

Sorokin and the Islanders lost to the Hurricanes while Shesterkin’s Rangers fell to the Devils

According to the New York Post, they’ve known each other since they were 16 years old and played on a number of Russian national teams together.

Sorokin is also the godfather to Shesterkin’s child and he even spent Christmas at Shesterkin’s house.

“It’s really good,” Sorokin said during last season’s All-Star Game about having Shesterkin there. “[We] played together in junior team when we were 16. Now we play in NHL. … Now we play in All-Star. So it’s really a cool thing for us.”

Both goalies had significant impact on their teams during their run to the playoffs in recent years – with both the Islanders and Rangers making Eastern Conference Finals appearances within the past three seasons.

Last season, Shesterkin had a .916 save percentage and a 2.48 GAA as the Rangers lost in Game 7 of the first round to the New Jersey Devils.

Comparatively, Sorokin put up a .924 save percentage and a 2.34 goals against average throughout the regular season. But the Islanders fell in their first round matchup in six games to the Carolina Hurricanes.

Sorokin would have likely won the Vezina in any other season, were it not for a phenomenal campaign from Boston Bruins goaltender Linus Ullmark – who ultimately took home the prize. 

As a result, the Islanders recently rewarded him with an eight-year contract worth an average annual value of $8.25million.