Decrease: Henrik Lundqvist
Make no mistake about it, Henrik Lundqvist is still one of the top goaltenders in the league. Although he is no longer the best in the world, he always is an essential piece of the Rangers championship puzzle. Having said that, if and when the playoffs roll around, he needs to be ready to lead the Rangers to the fire.
In his career, when playing a full season, Lundqvist has started in no less than 55 games. The Rangers goal is to have him play as much as he can, but at the same time give him enough time to recoup for April. The Rangers are currently trending upward as they are starting to find a groove. If they continue this, they should go to the playoffs. This means Lundqvist needs to play maybe five fewer games than he usually will. He is aging, and that means his body is more susceptible to injury. Saving him five games could significantly reduce his injury risk.
This would be hard to do. However, the Rangers backup goalie, Ondrej Pavelec isn’t precisely what Cam Talbot was a few seasons ago. Pavelec, despite playing better than he did in Winnipeg, is not yet a reliable backup. Since the Rangers started the season so poorly, they don’t find themselves with a lot of wiggle room. This is the main reason why Lundqvist is playing so often. The time will come though when the coaching staff will have to start trusting Pavelec to steal some games.