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Alexander Georgiev makes return to MSG for anticipated clash with Rangers.

By Marvin Azrak

CALGARY, CANADA - OCTOBER 13: Alexandar Georgiev #40 of the Colorado Avalanche in action against the Calgary Flames during an NHL game at Scotiabank Saddledome on October 13, 2022 in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. (Photo by Derek Leung/Getty Images)
CALGARY, CANADA - OCTOBER 13: Alexandar Georgiev #40 of the Colorado Avalanche in action against the Calgary Flames during an NHL game at Scotiabank Saddledome on October 13, 2022 in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. (Photo by Derek Leung/Getty Images) /
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Alexander Georgiev had the Islanders’ number, showing his true Rangers colors.
Alexander Georgiev had the Islanders’ number, showing his true Rangers colors. /

The Islander-killer:

On November 21, 2018, Georgiev recorded his first NHL shutout, making 29 saves in a 5–0 victory against the arch-rival New stork Islanders. It would begin a string of dominance against them, and to date, he has a record of 8-3-0 in 11 games with a goals-against average of 1.96 and a save percentage of .935 with two shutouts against the Islanders in his career.

The goaltender also became the first Ranger to record a shutout in Vegas, backstopping the Blueshirts to a 5-0 victory on December 8, 2019, over the Golden Knights. It was the overall sequel to a 45-save performance two nights earlier in a 3-2 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets.

But it was on his 23rd birthday that he showed New York what he could be capable of, as on On February 10, 2019, Georgiev made a career-best 55 saves in a 4–1 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs at MSG, becoming the goaltender with second-most saves in a game in Rangers’ history, while also setting a record for most saves in regulation.

He would back that up with a 51-save performance in Toronto later that season in a 2-1 New York triumph.

Then, the organization still envisioned the impending Igor Shesterkin as the “Chosen one.” Still, Georgiev was undoubtedly putting up a fight, as the stopper finished the 2018-2019 season with a career-high 2.91 GAA and a .914 save percentage.

But as we know now, those dreams of a deadly tandem didn’t become a reality as Georgiev mightily regressed, and it can all be traced back to a shootout late in the 2018-2019 campaign. With a March 3rd contest against the Capitals tied at two and both teams unable to decide things in extra time or the first three rounds of the shootout, the sophomore goaltender faced Alex Ovechkin in round four and, after being faked out, deliberately threw his stick at the great eight, who hadn’t even made contact with him. The referees’ initially ruled it a save but, after further review, correctly awarded the goal to Ovechkin, winning the game for Washington.

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