Alexandar Georgiev steps in nicely for banged-up Lundqvist
It had been the plan for Alexandar Georgiev to get this start in the Rangers’ nets on Tuesday night at the Garden, a 5-2 win over the Panthers that saw him notch 36 saves in his first start since returning from his weekend tune-up with AHL Hartford.
But the timing also worked out with starter Henrik Lundqvist apparently dealing with a “minor” injury, revealed by head coach David Quinn before the game.
The 36-year-old Lundqvist had started seven of the team’s first eight games, and according to Quinn, he had “been battling a little bit [with] some upper-body issues, so it was a good night for him [not to start]. He could have played, but I just thought it was a good time to get Georgie in.”
Lundqvist backed up and didn’t play, keeping his numbers on the year at a stellar 2.55 goals-against average and a .921 save percentage.
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The Rangers now embark on a four-game road trip that starts Thursday in Chicago before heading to California for three, with no back-to-backs involved.
The only previous start of the season for Georgiev was when he gave up seven goals on 39 shots in a 8-5 loss in Carolina on Oct. 7, the third game of the regular season. The club then sent the 22-year-old Bulgarian down to the Wolf Pack, where he played two straight games on Friday and Sunday and allowed six goals on 63 shots.
“I felt really good,” Georgiev said. “I got a couple of games in Hartford this week and it helped a lot to get into this playing rhythm. … This been awesome to get those games, get the confidence back a bit and just get back here.”
Now with this revelation of Lundqvist’s minor injury, it’ll be curious how much Quinn chooses to split the playing time on the trip.
“Georgie is a good goalie, a really good goalie,” Quinn said.
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Mika Zibanejad had a shorthanded goal and a power-play goal in the second period — to go along with two assists overall — becoming the first Ranger who has registered a power-play point and a shorthanded point in the same period of a game since Ryan Callahan on March 28, 2012, at Winnipeg.
Winger Ryan Spooner played an inconspicuous 8:07 in his return to the lineup after being a healthy scratch for Sunday’s 4-1 loss to the Flames. He played on a line with Vladislav Namestnikov and Cody McLeod, directly replacing Vinni Lettieri, who did not have a point while playing seven of the first eight games.
Defenseman Tony DeAngelo remained a scratch for the fifth straight game and the seventh time in the opening nine games.