David Quinn doing what he can to keep Henrik Lundqvist sharp
TORONTO — The looming three-day holiday recess in which NHL teams are forbidden from skating was a key consideration when David Quinn decided to split the weekend back-to-back goaltending by tabbing Alex Georgiev for Saturday’s 5-3 loss against the powerful Maple Leafs while holding back Henrik Lundqvist for Sunday’s Garden match against the Flyers.
With the following game Thursday at home against the Blue Jackets, for which both teams will prep with morning skates, the coach opted to cut Lundqvist’s days of inactivity to a minimum. The Rangers opted to go with backup Ondrej Pavelec coming out of last year’s holiday break and All-Star break. Lundqvist, who’d been dreadful following breaks the previous year, got the assignment against the Maple Leafs coming out of the bye week and was chased early in the second period.
“We were going to split regardless of the rotation or the opponents and felt this was the best way to do it,” said Quinn, comfortable with Georgiev after the rookie’s 14-save, 3-1 victory over Anaheim on Tuesday. “Alex is coming off a good one, we get Hank an extra day. Regardless who, it was going to be Georgie [Saturday] and Hank [Sunday].”
Georgiev was steady against the Maple Leafs, allowing four goals on 35 shots in the empty-net-abetted defeat while the Blueshirts dropped to 4-10-2 on the road, with all four victories coming via the shootout.
“I though Georgie was very good,” Quinn said. “ It was a great situation for him. A learning environment.”
Freddy Claesson returned after serving as a healthy scratch Tuesday and bumped Tony DeAngelo into street clothes for the first time since Dec. 1 at Montreal. DeAngelo, who’d played in 21 of the previous 23 games, had begun to slide while paired with Brady Skjei.
“Tony’s had a little bit of a struggle lately, so I thought it was a good time to get him out,” Quinn said. “Freddy is good defensively and is good taking away time and space.”
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A significant difference in John Tavares beyond the hue of the blue home No. 91 sweater that he wears is the center’s positioning on the power play. For the first time in his NHL career, Tavares is the net-front presence.
“I was in the slot last year and off the side on the half-wall before that,” Tavares said, before a two-assist third period and game. “I like this. It’s like watching a tennis match, my head keeps moving the way we move the puck, but it’s a great spot to pick up goals.”
Tavares has five goals with the man-advantage as opposed to 18 at five-on-five, the latter total tying him for the league lead with Alex Ovechkin. Tavares’ 23 overall is tied for third, trailing Ovechkin’s 29 and Jeff Skinner’s 25.
“He’s figured out in his career all the goals are scored from stick-length in front of the net, so he goes there,” Toronto coach Mike Babcock said of the former Islander. “You know, if you track the guys who don’t score, they’re never near the net, no matter how much you tell them.
“Once in a while you get a screen and a guy blows one by, or if you’re [Auston] Matthews, you can blow the odd one by, but most of us have to be within a stick length, and probably half a stick length.”
Tavares, an alternate captain, said that he has adapted his game since leaving the Islanders, but that is simply the nature of hockey.
“You’re always adapting and always learning,” he said. “A lot of it is because of systems or specific personnel, but you always have to evolve. You’re always looking to get better and to improve.”