Alexandar Georgiev will make his second consecutive start Sunday in Philadelphia, the first of the Rangers’ final five as they play out the remainder of the season.
Henrik Lundqvist has been told to expect his understudy to get the bulk of the remaining work, essentially guaranteeing the five-time All-Star will make the fewest appearances of his career in a season not shortened by a lockout or in which he didn’t sustain a significant injury.
“I knew I was not going to play a lot of games, the last 12-13 games, they told me that,” Lundqvist said after practice Saturday. “So I was kind of prepared for that. All I can do now is just practice hard and try to make the most of my next start.”
Rangers coach David Quinn said the plan is for the 37-year-old Lundqvist to start Monday’s game in New Jersey.
Lundqvist, who often has stated his commitment to the Rangers’ rebuilding plan, said this season has been a “mental drain” and “a new experience for me, for sure.” He has two years remaining on his contract at a salary-cap hit of $8.5 million each season.
Asked how quickly he believes the Rangers’ rebuilding plan can be accelerated, Lundqvist replied: “I don’t know. I don’t know how quick you can turn things around, or what’s gonna happen this summer. There’s obviously gonna be some action, for sure.”
Lundqvist has appeared in 50 of the Rangers’ 77 games, going 18-21-10 with a career-worst 3.05 goals-against average. The only seasons he has made fewer appearances were the 2012-13 lockout year (43), and 2014-15 (46), when he missed several weeks with a neck injury.
“He understands the situation and he’s been very good about it,” Quinn said. “He’s a pro and he knows the situation we’re in. If you asked him, he’d want to play every game, as you’d want all your players to do. But he’s handled it very well and very understanding of the situation. And Georgie’s played very well, too, let’s not discredit Georgie.”
Georgiev stopped 44 of 46 shots in Friday’s 4-2 win over St. Louis, improving to 12-13-3 with a 3.06 GAA in 30 appearances (27 starts). Since the Feb. 25 trade deadline, Georgiev has started eight of the team’s 15 games.
Mika Zibanejad didn’t practice, but Quinn said it was “just a precaution,” and “he’ll play [Sunday].”
Lundqvist said he remains undecided about whether to play for Sweden at the 2019 World Championships in May.
“I’m gonna take a break and I promised the coaches in Sweden I will get back to them after a week or 10 days,” he said. “I need to get away and kind of analyze this year and regroup a little bit and then see if I have what it takes to go there.”
The Rangers agreed to terms with collegiate free agent forward Patrick Newell on a contract beginning at the start of the 2019-20 season. The 23-year-old Newell scored 21 goals with 26 assists in 39 games for St. Cloud State.