This is not about Igor Shesterkin. This is the desire of Alexander Georgiev and Rangers coach David Quinn to pass the hot hand.
Georgiev has helped the Rangers win at least one point in each of their last four appearances (they are 2-0-2 in these contests) and has a strong performance in Friday night’s 6-2 win over the Bruins in the garden. Therefore, he will return to the net in Sunday’s rematch with Boston.
“It’s always a competition. The plan is to play the man who gives you the best chance of winning, ”Quinn said of Zoom on Saturday. “Georgiev has played well. I think he has six of his last eight points and had a good night [Friday] night, so give it a try [on Sunday]”.
Shesterkin has started 11 of the Rangers’ 18 games and has better overall numbers than Georgiev: a lower-than-goal average (2.40 vs. 2.81) and a higher savings percentage (91.9 to 90.1). ), but Quinn likes what Georgiev has seen recently.
“He hasn’t played two in a row in a long time, I don’t think so,” the coach said. “I just wanted to give him a chance to follow what he did [Friday] night. “
According to Quinn, the status of Artemi Panarin and Kaapo Kakko remains unchanged.
Kakko, on the team’s COVID-19 protocol list, has missed the last three games, while Panarin has been out for the last two as he was overrun following an allegation of a of his former KHL coach Andrei Nazarov, who in 2011 Panarin got into an altercation with an 18-year-old woman. Panarin has denied the allegations and there has been no evidence or police record to support Nazarov’s claims.
Since there was practice on Saturday, Quinn said it is unlikely that Filip Chytil (on hand) will play on Sunday. The center, 21, returned to practice Thursday after being out on Jan. 24.
The credit for the Rangers’ first goal on Friday has shifted from Julien Gauthier to Phil Di Giuseppe. He scored Di Giuseppe’s first goal of the season. Gauthier is thus in a goal.