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New York Rangers need these five things to be true contenders

By Victoria Ranieri

NEW YORK, NY - NOVEMBER 26: The New York Rangers celebrate after defeating the Vancouver Canucks in a shootout at Madison Square Garden on November 26, 2017 in New York City. (Photo by Jared Silber/NHLI via Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - NOVEMBER 26: The New York Rangers celebrate after defeating the Vancouver Canucks in a shootout at Madison Square Garden on November 26, 2017 in New York City. (Photo by Jared Silber/NHLI via Getty Images) /
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PITTSBURGH, PA – DECEMBER 05: Ondrej Pavelec
PITTSBURGH, PA – DECEMBER 05: Ondrej Pavelec /

A Backup They Can Trust

It has become apparent the Rangers do not trust Ondrej Pavelec as much as they did Antti Raanta.

The Rangers have played in 27 contests so far and Pavelec has played in only 7 of them. Of these 7, he has started in 4 and has a record of 2-4-0. His save percentage is an abysmal .889 percent with a GAA of 3.56. This is a stark contrast to Raanta’s .922 save percentage and GAA of 2.26.

The Rangers need to find a backup they trust to take some of the workload from 35–year-old Henrik Lundqvist, similar to what Antti Raanta did in two years with the Rangers. In Raanta’s first year with the Rangers, he played in 25 games and started 18 of them going 11-6-2. In his second year, he played in 30 games, started 26 of them, and went 16-8-2.

Since Pavelec is 30, he is towards the end of his prime. He’s not developing anymore and with a career save percentage of .907, he’s playing to his level and not showing many signs of growth. Before the trade deadline and definitely before next season, the Rangers should explore both trade and signing options for the backup position.

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