Jonathan Quick has significantly improved his goals-against average this season compared to his initial two years with the Rangers. However, the veteran backup goalie hasn’t seen a proportional increase in wins.
In the last five games Quick started, the Rangers have managed to score only six goals, including Sunday’s 2-1 defeat to the Predators in Nashville, Tennessee.
The two-time Stanley Cup champion has a record of 3-5-1 across nine starts, despite maintaining an impressive 1.79 goals-against average.
In contrast, during his first two seasons with New York, Quick notched a 29-13-4 record with a combined goals-against average of 2.87 over 51 appearances, following a lengthy 16-season stint with the Kings.
At 39, Quick recently returned from a brief absence due to a lower-body injury and delivered a stellar performance against the Predators, saving 30 of 31 shots. This effort elevated his season’s save percentage to a career-high .937.
“Quickie was incredible on Sunday night, and it’s frustrating when your goalie performs like that, and we can’t support him with goals,” defenseman Braden Schneider expressed after the game. “It’s disappointing, but we’ll learn from it and move on.”
Team captain J.T. Miller was placed on injured reserve Monday so the Rangers could recall forward Brett Berard from AHL Hartford as roster insurance for Tuesday’s game in Washington.
The Rangers were forced to dress 11 forwards and seven defensemen for Sunday’s loss in Nashville because forwards Gabe Perreault and Matt Rempe were unavailable due to an illness that coach Mike Sullivan described as “something that’s going through our team right now.”
Miller is considered week to week with an upper-body injury suffered Saturday against the Flyers.
Berard, who had been reassigned to the Wolf Pack last week, has appeared in 11 games for the Blueshirts this season with zero points and six penalty minutes.
