So the Rangers could high-step out of the Garden on Sunday night after finding yet another way to win in a season chock full of rather confounding victories. This time it was Ryan Lindgren — well of course it was — with the last second buzzer-beater with .07 remaining on the clock to lift the Blueshirts to a chaotic 5-4 triumph over the Sabres.
But even in elevating the record to a fancy 11-4-3, the Rangers have a serious issue that probably needs to be addressed in one form or another before too long.
Because though the Blueshirts persevered in this one while getting goals from Chris Kreider (yep, another one), Kaapo Kakko (yep, another one), Jacob Trouba, K’Andre Miller and Lindgren, this also represented yet another game in which Alex Georgiev provided subpar netminding until he was replaced by Igor Shesterkin after allowing four goals on 18 shots through two periods.
“Coach’s decision,” Gerard Gallant, who is the coach, said when asked why he made the switch in nets.
That call was obvious. Georgiev was fighting the puck and the moment just as he has been pretty much from the start not only of this season, but last year. Much less obvious were the reasons behind Gallant’s decision to give No. 40 the start in the midst of a stretch in which this represented the club’s only game in five days.
Could it possibly have been an attempt to showcase the Russian to the Sabres, who have all sorts of goaltending problems? If so, let’s file that under questionable ideas that went very wrong.
And something is wrong with Georgiev. Off with his technique. Off with his confidence. Georgiev’s .858 save percentage through five starts ranks last in the NHL among the 52 goaltenders with at least 250 minutes. The Rangers never know when the 25-year-old is going to make a save. It is an impossible way to go.
This is something new for the Rangers, who other than a few spots in Henrik Lundqvist’s last season or two, have not had a goaltending issue since the 2005-06 introduction of both the hard cap and the King from Sweden. Indeed, the Blueshirts have not had a goaltender post a save percentage so inferior since Steve Valiquette’s .852 in six games in 2009-10.
There is no issue with the No. 1 who wears No. 31. Shesterkin, at the top of his game, stopped all four shots he faced in this one as the Rangers wrested control away from the Sabres, dominating the final 20 minutes even if it took 19:59:03 to score the tie-breaking goal.
But the Rangers want to limit Shesterkin to somewhere in the range of 60-64 starts. They can’t have a goalie who is allowing 1.5 goals on every 10 shots to get the rest of the assignments. They just can’t.
Georgiev, unhappy with his status as backup to Shesterkin, has wanted out for a while, even if he might never have formally requested general manager Chris Drury to trade him. The Blueshirts made Georgiev available over the summer, but never got more than a nibble. Now, they may not even get that.
It is unclear whether the hierarchy — in this case that would include goaltending coach Benoit Allaire — believes that 24-year-old Adam Huska would be ready to step up into the NHL. Huska, the 184th selection of the 2015 draft who then played at UConn, has sparkling numbers for the Wolf Pack, posting a .938 save percentage and 1.81 GAA.
But that is a small sample size reflection of the goaltender, who has played only five games. Keith Kinkaid has recorded a .918 save percentage and 2.55 GAA while going 8-1-1, but his work for the Blueshirts last season does not tend to inspire confidence.
Georgiev, a pending restricted free agent with arbitration rights, is carrying a $2.425 million cap hit that is pricey for a backup. It is possible — possible — that he might clear waivers if the Rangers opt to make that move. But a claim of Georgiev would leave the club with a neophyte behind Shesterkin. That would not be ideal.
Then again, Cam Talbot was a neophyte when he was promoted to take veteran backup Martin Biron’s spot behind Lundqvist early in 2013-14. That worked out. Again, though, it would surely entail a significant risk on the Rangers’ behalf to waive Georgiev. Problem is, it is becoming an equally big risk to give him a start.