It was only right that Jonathan Quick earned the starting nod against the Kings, for whom he served as the franchise goalie for 16 years, in the Rangers’ second night of a back-to-back schedule on Sunday at the Garden.
This game naturally carried a little extra meaning for Quick, who thought he was going to retire a King before the organization traded him to Columbus prior to last season’s trade deadline. It was his first time facing the team he helped bring two Stanley Cups to, and that’s a significant moment in any NHL player’s career.
But for the Rangers, the matchup with the Kings – arguably the hottest team in the league at the moment – was a significant game. The kind of game you want your hottest goaltender in net for.
Right now, that’s Jonathan Quick.
The 37-year-old future Hall-of-Fame netminder carried a 7-0-1 record into Sunday night’s contest. Prior to puck drop, Quick was the only goalie in the league (with a minimum of nine games played) that hadn’t suffered a regulation loss yet.
His 2.34 goals-against average was tied with the Capitals’ Charlie Lindgren for the fifth-best in the NHL entering Sunday night’s slate of games, while his .918 save percentage was within the top 10 as well.
Coming off a down year split between Los Angeles and Vegas, who acquired him from the Blue Jackets and used him as a third-stringer en route to hoisting the Stanley Cup last season, Quick took some time to adjust to playing behind the Rangers in the preseason.
An adjustment is all it proved to be as Quick went on to pitch two shutouts within his first six games.
Igor Shesterkin is obviously still the Rangers’ No. 1 goaltender, but those big-time saves have evaded him in his last few games. Giving up 10 goals on 64 shots in the past two games, Shesterkin has been left out to dry at times by the Rangers in front of him.
The notion that the Rangers play differently in front of the two netminders is a proposed trait of this team that dates back to the Henrik Lundqvist days. When you get so accustomed to having a goalie that can bail you out more often than not, it’s only human nature for a team to subconsciously rely on it.
With Shesterkin in net, however, the Blueshirts have allowed three or more goals in four of the last five games.
This, of course, is a combination of the recent defensive breakdowns from the Rangers, as well as a few missed saves from Shesterkin.
The thing is, Shesterkin was incredibly sharp at the very start of the season, flashing glimpses of the 2022 Vezina Trophy winner. He owned a 2.36 GAA and a .913 save percentage through his first eight games before he got banged up in the Nov. 2 contest against the Hurricanes.
His numbers have dipped since then, largely because of the Rangers’ play in front of him. Over his last eight appearances, Shesterkin has posted a 3.28 GAA and a .905 save percentage.
The 27-year-old was said to be dealing with minor soreness, but it sidelined him for four games, which indicates it may have been more.
There are much bigger problems afoot for the Rangers than Shesterkin looking a little human. They still have one of the best goaltending tandems in the NHL.
But Sunday night was Quick’s night.
For a multitude of reasons.