Who should be in net for the New York Rangers when they start the postseason? Our poll results are in.
As we kill time waiting for the apparent resumption of NHL hockey in a few weeks, we are spending time finding stuff to talk about. When it comes to the New York Rangers, the three headed goalie monster is the one subject that won’t go away.
In an attempt to gauge fan supports among the three netminders, Blue Line Station conducted an unscientific Twitter poll. The results are in and the support for Igor Shesterkin is overwhelming, despite some sentimental (and practical) votes for Henrik Lundqvist.
It looks like the Rangers will play the Hurricanes in the "play-in" best of 5 series. Who should be the game 1 goalie?
— Blue Line Station (@BlueLineStation) May 24, 2020
126 followers voted in the poll, hardly an overwhelming number, but 67.5% felt that Igor Shesterkin was the choice to start Game One of a best-of-five play-in series against the Carolina Hurricanes.
Henrik Lundqvist, despite a stellar record against Carolina and a ton of playoff experience, came in a distant second with 29.4% of the vote.
If there is any question about choosing between Shesterkin or Alexandar Georgiev, the numbers are resoundingly in the Russian rookie’s favor as only 3.2% felt that Georgiev should get the nod in the first game. That’s four votes.
Who will it be?
Rangers Coach David Quinn will have the tough choice to make. No doubt he will get input from Jeff Gorton and John Davidson as well as his assistant coaches, particularly goalie coach Benoit Allaire.
The X factor will be what kind of preparation teams will get before the series begins. There has still be no word on whether there will be any exhibition games between NHL teams. Another option is an expanded roster before the play-in series allowing teams to hold meaningful scrimmages before they play for real.
The coaches will be watching their three goalies closely and will undoubtedly go with the one that they think is showing the best in practice or any exhibition games.
There’s no doubt that Shesterkin would have been the choice if the situation was the same as it was in mid-March when the season was suspended.
Now, all three goalies have been inactive for over two months and when they start practice again they will all be in the same boat.
While there is no question what the majority of Blue Line Station readers think, there are many factors that will go into the final decision and at least five weeks before we know the final answer. In a short series, it will be the most important decision of David Quinn’s professional coaching career.