Henrik Lundqvist gets rough welcome to new season
No, this was not the way Henrik Lundqvist imagined his preseason debut would go.
The Rangers franchise goaltender allowed five goals on 22 shots over 26:37 of ice time in the team’s 6-4 loss to the Flyers at the Garden on Wednesday night. The first two periods were a complete mess of penalties and scoring chances on some very soft ice, but Lundqvist still wasn’t pleased with how things went down.
“Yeah, I think I was probably hoping for a better feeling,” Lundqvist said. “I know the first couple games always are a test, trying to look for timing, good movement. But I definitely have some work to do.”
First-year coach David Quinn said that a lot goes into evaluating goalies, but eventually it just comes down to stopping pucks. Quinn did give Lundqvist a little break for the first time he has coached him in a game.
“I felt bad for him because they got some quirky goals,” Quinn said. “It’s tough your first game out there. The ice was not great, obviously. And one of the reasons they took it to us for two periods is because they understood that and they kept it very simplistic, whereas every time we got it, we tried to make a heroic play.”
The Rangers settled down a bit once Dustin Tokarski came in midway through the second period. But Lundqvist is still their guy in nets, and this was not the way he wanted the exhibition schedule to start.
“I didn’t feel great out there,” Lundqvist said. “Work hard here in the next week or so and really try to get going.”
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Stud center Filip Chytil was in bad pain on the bench early in the third period after getting hit in the ribs with a Flyers clearing attempt. He stayed in the game and afterward said, “I’m OK.”
The 19-year-old also scored a highlight-reel goal at 3:05 of the third, splitting two defenders and then burying the puck under the blocker of 20-year-old Philly goalie Carter Hart, who was terrific in making 25 saves.
“He’s an explosive player, a threatening player every time he has the puck out there,” Quinn said of Chytil. “Obviously it’s been duly noted how we feel about him, and what a big part of our future he is.”
Winger Ryan Spooner did not come out for the third period because of what Quinn called “a hip strain.” The coach added that it was just precautionary at this point.
The Brendan Smith Reclamation Project began pretty well for the much-maligned defenseman, notching a nifty assist while showing some edge in his preseason debut.
“The thing we talked about [with him] is, ‘We’re not looking for you to be something you haven’t already been in this league,’ ” Quinn said. “That’s the good news, I think he understands that.”
Boo Nieves missed his second straight day of practice and was considered “day-to-day” by Quinn as he continues to go through the NHL concussion protocol.
Quinn had coached at the Garden before while with Boston University, but Wednesday night being his debut on Broadway as the Rangers headman was still something special.
“As I said to the guys — I’ve coached in this building before, and stood [in the postgame press conference room] before, so maybe that makes me a little more comfortable,” Quinn said. “But that certainly didn’t take away from the moment.”