NEW YORK -- For the past nine seasons, Henrik Lundqvist has been the gold standard for NHL goaltenders. Since 2008, Lundqvist's .921 save-percentage is fourth among all netminders who appeared in at least 300 games, though the three puck-stoppers in front of him -- Braden Holtby, Cory Schneider, and Tuukka Rask -- each played hundreds fewer games.
While Lundqvist shined, so, too, have the Rangers' backup goaltenders, in particular the past four seasons when Cam Talbot and Antti Raanta didn't just give the Rangers a puncher's chance on nights Lundqvist rested or was hurt, but a Grade-A performance instead.
As a result, the Rangers are second in the NHL in team 5-on-5 save-percentage the past four seasons, behind the Montreal Canadiens who employ a fairly renowned goaltender by the name of Carey Price.
This season though, there's a new understudy on Broadway, and how he performs will go a long way in determing if the Rangers closing scene is the one they scripted for themselves, riding down the Canyon of Heroes littered with ticker tape.
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Ondrej Pavelec, a 30-year-old veteran who spent each of the first 10 seasons with the Atlanta Thrashers/Winnipeg Jets, signed with the Blueshirts this summer. Of course, Pavelec isn't playing a starring role on Broadway, but still an integral one as Lundqvist's stand-in.
Pavelec also comes to New York with the hopes of turning his career around. With a one-year, $1.3 million contract in hand, Pavelec very much has the opportunity to prove he's still deserving of a starting role in the NHL, and his presence in New York could have major mutual benefits.
"If you look at our backups and their records since I've been here, their winning percentage, it's been excellent," Rangers head coach Alain Vigneault said. "I'm very confident. [Pavelec] has been working very hard. He's been doing a lot of extra work with [goaltending coach Benoit Allaire]."
Pavelec made his first Rangers start on Saturday, a 3-2 loss against the New Jersey Devils. The box score the morning after looked rather unkind: three goals allowed on 19 shots, but a breakaway goal by Drew Stafford and a double-deflection by Miles Wood while Pavelec was screened accounted for two of the goals.
"We didn’t give them much especially in the first period," Pavelec said afterward. "I had a hard time getting into the game and getting some shots there. It’s too bad right now that we didn’t get the two points because we really need it.”
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In an opening 20 minutes where Pavelec could have watched from the bench, the Rangers out-shot the Devils 14-3. Pavelec even gloved a backhand shot going wide by Wood with 3:55 remaining in the first period, perhaps just trying to get a feel for the puck. The off-target attempt did not register for the official scorer at Madison Square Garden.
However, the Devils didn't exactly pepper Pavelec once they did generate more shots, registering 16 over the second and third periods, scoring on three. The Rangers, now 1-4-0 on the season, had some of their most glaring issues flare up against New Jersey. They scored six goals in the past four games, losing three times, and didn't score their second against the Devils until less than a minute remained in regulation.
That is putting undo pressure on both Lundqvist and Pavelec to be near perfect between the Blueshirt pipes.
“Sooner or later, it’s not good enough to only get chances," forward Rick Nash said after Pavelec's debut. "You need to actually score."
The Rangers offense is doing many things well, but isn't scoring. The underlying number say the goals could be on the way though; the Rangers are fourth in the NHL with 11.76 expected goals-for at even strength, according to Corsica.Hockey, but have scored six.
For now, the offense is the first item on the docket in terms of most impactful mistakes. If and when it sorts itself out though, how Pavelec can perform as the alternate is still a major question-mark, but one that will predicate the Rangers success.
"We are in it together," Pavelec said. "We need to find a way to win the games. It’s not going to be pretty. It’s about going in front of the net and battle there and hope it’s going to be enough to win the game. I am pretty sure we are going to battle hard the next game and try to win."