Rangers' Jonathan Quick closing in on NHL record for wins for an American goalie
Rangers goaltender Jonathan Quick protects the net against the Lightning in the second period of an NHL game at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
CHICAGO — Jonathan Quick got the night off when the Rangers took on Chicago, the NHL’s last-place team, at United Center on Friday.
Igor Shesterkin got the call in goal, his first game for the Blueshirts since Jan. 26. Quick, who started the previous three games, served as his backup.
Three straight starts by Quick doesn’t mean the Rangers have a goalie controversy. All it meant was the Rangers were trying to take advantage of how well the 38-year-old was playing by giving him a little more ice time.
Shesterkin, the 2022 Vezina Trophy winner as the league’s top goalie, is established as the Rangers’ No. 1 guy. Quick is No. 2.
It’s certainly true that Quick was magnificent in a 32-save performance in a 2-1 overtime win over Colorado on Monday and earned the right to start Wednesday against Tampa Bay. When he won that one, too, some might have wondered if coach Peter Laviolette would keep playing the hot hand and start Quick against Chicago. But he went with Shesterkin.
“It was part of the plan,’’ Laviolette said.
For Quick (12-4-2 with a 2.27 goals-against average and .919 save percentage), whatever the plan is, he’ll roll with it.
“Before the break, it was a back-to-back situation, so I assumed I was playing one of the two, [and it] turned out I was playing the Ottawa game [Jan. 27], so you just kind of get ready for that game,’’ he said. “I was aware that I was playing the Colorado game, and prepared for that. And then the next day, I was told I was playing the Tampa game, so I just prepared for that . . . You just try to stay in the moment and take it day by day. [And] whatever comes, you’re ready for it.’’
The win over Tampa Bay was the 387th of Quick’s NHL career, which is four behind the record for an American-born NHL goalie held by Ryan Miller, who played 18 seasons for Buffalo, St. Louis, Vancouver and Anaheim.
“Obviously, I am aware of [Miller’s record] and I know I’m kind of getting a little bit closer,’’ said Quick, who knows Miller well from playing together on Team USA. “But I think the best way, and it’s something that I’ve always tried to do throughout my career, is just staying in the moment. I know, for the possibility of reaching that record, I have to win the next game in order to be a little bit closer, right? So it’s always a thing where you’re just focused on where you’re at today, what you have to do today in order to be ready for the next game.’’
Quick ended last season 16 wins behind Miller, and when he signed with the Rangers last summer as a free agent to serve as Shesterkin’s backup, he couldn’t have known for certain how many starts he would get this season.
He has made 18, and the way things have turned out, he has a real shot at the record this season. After Friday, the Rangers have 30 games remaining, including three sets of back-to-backs (Feb. 24-25, March 11-12 and March 16-17). If Shesterkin (19-12-1, 2.86 GAA, .899 save percentage) starts 20 of the 30, that would leave 10 for Quick, who would need to win half of them to surpass Miller.
Chasing the record, though, was not something Quick said he thought about when he was looking for a new team as a free agent.
“Honestly, I wanted to go somewhere where they had a good team . . . a team that I felt like was a playoff team,’’ he said. “I just know from being in those locker rooms, they’re just more fun, enjoyable to be around, right? Ryan Miller’s number wasn’t really at the forefront of my reasons why I wanted to go where I wanted to go.’’
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.
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