Jonathan Quick ready to make 'special' home start for Rangers against Red Wings
Rangers goaltender Jonathan Quick protects the net in the second period of an NHL game against the Predators at Madison Square Garden on Oct. 19. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
Jonathan Quick didn’t get a chance to make a start at Madison Square Garden during the preseason, so when he takes his spot in the goal crease Tuesday night at the Garden for the Rangers’ game against the Detroit Red Wings, it will mark the first time he’s started a game at the Garden wearing a Rangers jersey.
And for a Connecticut kid who grew up rooting for the Blueshirts, that was kind of a big deal.
“Honestly, that would be special,’’ Quick had said Monday, when asked about the possibility he’d be getting the start Tuesday at the Garden. “At the same time, you're not trying to make more of it than what it is, right? It's a game that we're going there to try to get two points. And, I find that, for a goalie, it's better off you just kind of focus at the task at hand, and not to bring other stuff into it.’’
The task at hand for the Rangers Tuesday, first and foremost, is to put forth a better effort against the Red Wings than they did Saturday in Minnesota against the Wild, when they blew an early 3-0 lead and lost 5-4 in a shootout. Quick started that game and made 35 saves as the Rangers were outshot 39-18.
“I thought he had a tremendous amount of work last game,’’ Rangers coach Peter Laviolette said of Quick. “We need to be better than that. The first couple of games we played in front of him… we played a much better game in front of him. [Against Minnesota] we had to do a better job. But he was on point.’’
Quick has been on point all season for the Rangers, who signed him as a free agent this summer to a bargain basement, one-year, $825,000 (plus incentives) contract to back up Igor Shesterkin. Quick, the all-time leader in career shutouts (59) among American-born goaltenders, and No. 2 in wins (with 377) among Americans, entered Tuesday’s game with a 2-0-1 record. His 1.42 goals-against average was tops in the NHL, and his .948 save percentage was tied for second.
This comes after a rough preseason where he went 0-3 with a 5.07 GAA and .807 save percentage. Once the regular season started, though, the 37-year-old three-time Stanley Cup champion (who beat the Rangers with the L.A. Kings in the Finals in 2014) has been everything the Rangers could have hoped for in a backup goalie. He’s made a smooth transition to the role after being a No. 1 goaltender for almost all of his first 15 seasons.
“I haven't noticed [the infrequent starts] being an issue, because you're practicing every day, and so you’re certainly getting the work, and staying sharp between starts," he said. "[And] the coaches have been good, about kind of giving us a heads-up as to what the plan is going to be coming up. And you're prepared for that start, whenever that comes.’’
Shesterkin suffered an undisclosed injury in Thursday’s home win over Carolina. Unofficially, the 27-year-old was described as “banged up,’’ but he was unable to travel to Minnesota to back up Quick on Saturday and unable to dress for Tuesday’s game. Veteran Louis Domingue was called up from AHL Hartford to back Quick up in Minnesota and again on Tuesday as Quick made his second consecutive start.
Without knowing how soon Shesterkin will be back, Laviolette was quick to say how comfortable he is to rely on Quick to fill in for as long as he’s needed.
“Certainly, I have a lot of confidence in [Quick], and the way he's played to start the season,’’ the coach said.
And Quick is ready to handle the load for as long as he needs to.
“It’s kind of typical hockey season, where there's injuries [and] things happening here and there,’’ he said. “So, you just have to be ready for anything, right?’’
Colin Stephenson covers the Rangers for Newsday. He has spent more than two decades covering the NHL and just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.
