Jonathan Quick backstopped the Rangers in their 5-2 loss to the Devils Wednesday night at Prudential Center, which sets Igor Shesterkin up to the start in the preseason finale against the Bruins on Thursday at Madison Square Garden.
While Shesterkin has looked to be in midseason form, having stopped 30 of the 32 shots he’s faced through two exhibition games, Quick’s numbers haven’t been as formidable.
That continued on Wednesday.
Quick, who has played in all of the road games this preseason, has now allowed 11 goals on 57 total shots.
“I just don’t think that we played well in front of him,” head coach Peter Laviolette said of Quick after his team’s morning skate in Tarrytown on Wednesday. “I don’t think those numbers — I just don’t think they’re a good reflection. I think we were way too loose, too many odd-man rushes, too many point-blank chances. Inside of the games where he might play two periods and he lets up a few goals, there’s 5-10 saves that he made in there. It could’ve been worse. Those are things that we’re continuing to work on out here.
“What do I see in him? I see a guy that’s had a lot of success and a leader on the team. A guy that works extremely hard every day in practice.”
It’s true, the Rangers haven’t played well in front of Quick, but they haven’t played that much better in front of Shesterkin, either.
Shesterkin has been incredibly sharp, tracking pucks well and limiting long rebounds. He even launched the puck up the ice at one point, just like he usually does to help the Rangers break out of their own zone.
The Rangers have been relatively fortunate with their last two backup netminders, Alexandar Georgiev and Jaroslav Halak.
Quick is coming off a down year, in which he experienced tremendous change as he was traded from the organization he called home all 16 years of his career, the Kings. He was sent to the Blue Jackets, who then immediately flipped him to the Golden Knights and paved the way to his third Stanley Cup.
This backup role with the Rangers is not what Quick is used to, but the hope is that his veteran status and championship pedigree will come through.
“I think a player that’s proven to have championship-level success in your locker room, I think that’s a real plus,” Laviolette said earlier in camp. “I think anytime you can add that caliber of what it takes, that’s a good thing for your room.”
Tyler Pitlick exited Wednesday night’s loss to the Devils in the first period with an upper-body injury and did not return.
“He’s day-to-day right now,” Laviolette said. “We’ll evaluate him [Thursday] and see how he is.”
With Artemi Panarin, Mika Zibanejad and Kaapo Kakko on the top line, Chris Kreider and Blake Wheeler flanked Vincent Trocheck on the Rangers’ second unit Wednesday night.
The third line featured Will Cuylle, Barclay Goodrow and Pitlick, while Jimmy Vesey, Nick Bonino and Brennan Othmann made up the fourth unit.