The NY Rangers lines tonight will, for the most part, look familiar to everyone. There will be no changes to the 5v5 lineup, meaning the recently recalled Alex Belzile is not going to play. The original PP1 has also been reunited, which is the one “major” change to the lineup tonight. That shouldn’t be a surprise. Sometimes you just ride out a slump.
Jonathan Quick is starting tonight, something that appears to have rubbed some fans the wrong way.
Starting Quick tonight makes sense, even if Igor Shesterkin is coming off his first shutout of the season and probably his best performance thus far. Shesterkin will definitely get the next three games (Stadium Series, Stars, Devils) and may also get the Flyers game. That’s the potential for four starts in a row before the Rangers have a home-and-home against Columbus.
Quick, who last started on February 7 against Tampa, still needs to play. If he doesn’t play tonight, his next game would have been that Flyers game on February 24, two-and-a-half weeks after his last start. That’s too much time between starts, even for a backup. He needs to play as well.
This also allows Shesterkin to get another 5 day stint with Benoit Allaire to continue working on what caused his slump. It’s a win-win-win for the Rangers, Shesterkin, and Quick.
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