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Martin Biron will get his second straight start in nets Monday night when the Rangers face the Flames at the Garden but head coach John Tortorella made it clear that Henrik Lundqvist remains the club's unchallenged No. 1 goaltender.
"This is not a two-goalie system, it isn't a 1 and 1A, it's not that Marty is playing well so we're going to rotate; that is not going to happen," Tortorella said during the club's morning skate. "Hank is our No. 1 goaltender, no question, and we're going to ride him.
"He has to be the backbone of this team for us to get where we want to go."
There's just no hiding the fact Lundqvist has not been sharp in far too many games this year. Unlike other years where they had to ride Lundqvist till he dropped, having Biron represents a legitimate option, at least over the short term while the King gets his act in order.
Lundqvist can afford to be magnanimous about his benching because he knows, long term he's the man. Still, he's been a stand guy taking shots, on the ice and in front of the media when his teammates deserved the blame. The Rangers have lost a lot of 1 and 2 goal games where Lundqvist said he should have made another save or two, when in reality had it not been for him, his lifeless team would have been run out of the barn. His team first statements are totally within character.
Maybe I'm looking at this as too much of a fan but you have to think a couple of games off, some work with the coaches in practice and Lunqvist should be back in shape before long.
As for the rest of the team, it's been an inconsistent year. Some great focused efforts and some other games where they just didn't look like they belong in the league.
On the upside, the most important thing this year has been the blooming of Brandon Dubinsky and Ryan Callahan into not elite, but upper level players. Callahan has been on a tear since his time with the US Olympic team last year. Playing well at that level really gave him a shot of confidence that has carried through the second half of last season and the first quarter of this one.
Brandon Prust, the throw in from last year's trade for Olli Jokinen, has been a revalation. The guy is tenasious on the forecheck, plays hard in his own end, chips in the ocassional goal and isn't afraid to drop the gloves to stand up for himself or a teammate.
Rookie Derek Stepan is struggling mightily on faceoffs and he hasn't scored much since his opening night hat trick in Buffalo but the kid is magic and something good seems to happen almost every time he's on the ice. He's on the Gaborik-Frolov
On defense, the Rangers are a mixed bag though through Mark Staal and Dan Girardi are a solid as ever. Michael Del Zotto still makes some atrocious mistakes in his own end and hasn't shown quite the offense flair of his rookie season. Steve Eminger has been serviceable in a stay at home role and is getting more and more ice time. I never thought I'd say this but the Rangers should improve once they get Michal Rozsival back.
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All in all, the Rangers are a flawed team but an improved one over the on they put on the ice the last few years. A quarter of the way through the season, they are 5 points behind the Flyers and 1 behind the meh Penguins in the division (and you really can't think the Flyers can keep this pace up. Can they?).
I got nervous, and rightly so, when the Rangers jumped out to a 7-0-1 start last year. It was way too good for the team they had. The crash was as hard as it was inevitable. This pace, 11-9-1, is more realistic and gives the sense the Rangers can grow beyond it, especially with Gaborik finally back. Which brings us full circle...Henrik Lundqvist. Biron can get them through a rough patch but for real success, the King has to be the King.
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