New York Rangers: Mapping out a game plan for Ondrej Pavelec
With Ondrej Pavelec as the new back up in New York, how will the Rangers look to deploy him behind Henrik Lundqvist?
The New York Rangers have had the benefit, during the last five-plus years, of having some of the best backup goaltenders in the league. Cam Talbot and Antti Raanta, the most recent backups for Henrik Lundqvist, have earned starting jobs since their stints with New York. As the 2017-2018 season approaches, Ondrej Pavelec will suit up as the Ranger’s number two in net.
Pavelec spent the past six seasons as part of the Winnipeg Jets organization. There he was primarily a starter but started to split time towards the end of his career there. This will be the first time in a long while that Pavelec will start the season as a backup. The Rangers have high hopes heading into the season and a lot is riding on the 30-year old to produce solid starts when Lundqvist is not between the pipes.
What to expect
Pavelec has been a serviceable NHL goaltender during his 10-year career. While he hasn’t produced at a star level, he has never been poor enough to find himself without a job. For his career, Pavelec has a 2.87 goals against average and a .907 save percentage. The numbers themselves don’t breed immediate confidence, but for a backup the totals are acceptable.
The difference for Pavelec this season is that he will be playing behind one of the best defenses in the NHL. While with the Jets, Pavelec has played with poor defensive units. Over the last four years, the Jets have ranked higher than 21st in goals allowed as a team just once.
Rangers fans can’t expect perfection from Pavelec. However, with the way the Rangers defend as a team, the Czech net minder should have more defensive help than he has ever had in his career. With some of the burden taken off of his own shoulders, Pavelec should have no problem posting numbers better than his career averages.
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How to deploy Pavelec
The main question that surrounds goaltenders yearly is, how many games should the starter play in relation to the backup? Often times this can’t be determined before the season starts because of injuries, trades or even one goaltender going on a hot streak.
This season, for the Rangers to have success in the playoffs, they will have to ride the fine line of playing Lundqvist enough so that he’s ready for the playoffs but not playing him so much that he is tired. This balance has become increasingly important in the last couple years with Lundqvist getting up there in age.
In his Vezina winning season, Lundqvist played 62 games. However, the Swedish net minder has played in at least 65 games during a season six times. Four of those times he started 70 or more games. Those game totals are too strenuous for Lundqvist at this point in his career. Pavelec should get between 15-20 games. This would give Lundqvist enough rest and also allow Pavelec to stay fresh as the backup.
How it will play out
I see the Rangers trying to limit Lundqvist’s reps earlier on in the season so that he doesn’t get tired out too quickly. That way, not only can they rest Lundqvist, but they can quickly see what they have in Pavelec.
While the Ranger’s hopes of a deep playoff run rest on the shoulders of Lundqvist, the value of Pavelec cannot be understated. If he can give the Rangers 15-20 solid starts in net, the entire team will be better off for it. However, if he struggles, the Rangers face a dilemma they haven’t had to worry about in some time.
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It remains to be seen what Pavelec will produce for New York. If he can produce 15-20 games in net and win even half, the Rangers will find themselves in a great position come April.