This was not Pat Shurmur stepping up to the mic to proclaim that Eli Manning had been deposed by Daniel Jones and was now the backup quarterback following a 15-year run as QB1. This was nothing like that.
But when David Quinn casually announced that Alexandar Georgiev would get Friday’s start at the Garden against the Maple Leafs because of “the opponent, for sure,” it drove home the point that Henrik Lundqvist is no longer the Blueshirts’ de facto No. 1 goaltender after ascending to that role by the second month of his rookie 2005-06 season.
The changing of the guard is upon us. Georgiev’s start against Toronto will represent his sixth in the last eight games. Lundqvist has not played since last Saturday’s 4-3 shootout defeat in Anaheim in which he played brilliantly for long stretches but still was caught out of the net on one bad goal while yielding another marginal one that tied the game with 1:46 remaining in regulation.
So, Lundqvist is well-rested.
But Georgiev is playing.
Quinn on Monday said that his decision-making process regarding goaltending is “schedule-driven a lot of times, but more than anything, it’s play-driven.” The coach had also previously indicated that past performances against an opponent would also be a consideration.
Under that last criterion, the choice was clear, for Georgiev last season not only turned in a brilliant 55-save performance against the Maple Leafs at the Garden in a Feb. 10, 2-1 victory, he won again in Toronto with a stellar 44-save outing in a March 23, 2-1 victory in overtime.
So, to repeat Quinn’s words, “The opponent, for sure.”
But let’s face it. When has that ever mattered before? Well, other than against the Canadiens in Montreal, where for a few years at the turn of the decade John Tortorella went with Martin Biron because the coach believed the backup “settled down the team”? There were the years, too, that Cam Talbot, rather than Lundqvist, got the assignments from Alain Vigneault in Montreal. But that was kind of a building thing.
This is, well, this is another indication that Lundqvist will be required to at least match Georgiev’s play and results in order to reclaim his role as unquestioned No. 1. That is certainly not out of the question, but the numbers have been trending in Georgiev’s direction for a while now.
Since Nov. 10, Georgiev has gone 6-3-0 with a .925 save percentage and 2.61 GAA. Over the same stretch, Lundqvist has gone 3-4-3 with a .903 save percentage and 3.19 GAA. But it hasn’t been this way only over the last five weeks. Since last Feb. 6, Georgiev has gone 17-10-5, .920, 2.72 to Lundqvist’s 9-16-5, .909, 3.20.
So this latest tilt in the goaltending rotation is not about keeping Lundqvist fresh for the playoff drive or for the playoffs. Neither is it about age, the rebuild, improving anyone’s trade value or the three-goalie mix that includes Hartford’s Igor Shesterkin.
Rather, this appears to be the coach going with the goaltender he believes gives the Rangers the best chance to win any given night. This night, against a Maple Leafs team that has attacked like crazy with its high-end talent since Sheldon Keefe replaced Mike Babcock behind the bench on Nov. 21, it will be Georgiev.
Again. There have been no proclamations. No public demotions. The Rangers’ goaltending situation is undergoing an organic and ongoing transformation. It is happening before our very eyes. Where it goes from here is no longer solely in Lundqvist’s power. Georgiev will have quite the say in it, too.
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