This is not about Igor Shesterkin. It’s about the desire of Alexandar Georgiev and Rangers coach David Quinn to take a hot hand.
Georgiev has helped the Rangers win at least one point in each of his last four appearances (they are 2-0-2 in these contests) and has a strong performance in Friday night’s 6-2 victory over Bruins at the Garden . So he will return to the net in Sunday’s rematch with Boston.
“It’s always a competition. The plan is to play the guy who gives you the best chance to win, “Quinn said on Saturday over Zoom. “Georgiev played well. I think he got six of his last eight points and had a good night [Friday] at night, so give it a try [on Sunday]. ”
Shesterkin started 11 of Rangers’ 18 games and has a better overall number than Georgiev – a lower goal average (2.40 vs. 2.81) and a higher save percentage (91.9 to 90). , 1) – but Quinn likes what Georgiev saw recently.
“He hasn’t played two in a row, I don’t think so,” the coach said. “I just wanted to give him a chance to follow what he did [Friday] night.”
The status of Artemi Panarin and Kaapo Kakko remains unchanged, according to Quinn.
Kakko, on the team’s COVID-19 protocol list, missed the last three games, while Panarin was out of the last two, as he is taking leave following an accusation by one of his former KHL coaches, Andrei Nazarov, who in 2011 Panarin got into an argument with an 18-year-old girl. Panarin denied the allegations and there was no evidence or police files to support Nazarov’s allegations.
Because it was practiced on Saturday, Quinn said it is unlikely that Filip Chytil (hand) will play on Sunday. The 21-year-old center returned to training on Thursday after leaving on January 24.
Credit for Rangers’ first goal on Friday was changed from Julien Gauthier to Phil Di Giuseppe. He scored the first goal of the season for Di Giuseppe. Gauthier thus remains stuck on a single goal.