Goalie controversy brewing as Cam Talbot starts again for NY Rangers over ...
Andrew Theodorakis/New York Daily NewsCam Talbot (r.) is 6-1 with a 1.49 goals against average and a .944 save percentage.
Cam Talbot has not dethroned Henrik Lundqvist, the Rangers say, but Alain Vigneault's decision to start Talbot Monday night for the second straight game has the unmistakable makings of a potential goalie controversy at 33rd and 7th.
'Cam's playing extremely well right now,' Vigneault said at the Garden before the Blueshirts (14-13-0) took on the Winnipeg Jets (12-12-4). 'He's got a lot of confidence in his abilities, and for tonight's game, I just thought that was the right call. Henrik is definitely the number one goaltender on this team. He's proven that over the years: That he's one of the best, if not the best, in the National Hockey League. But for tonight's game I feel that it's the best thing for us to go with Cam.'
Lundqvist, 31, the Rangers' Team MVP for the last seven consecutive seasons and the 2011-12 Vezina Trophy winner as the NHL's top goalie, has not been a healthy scratch in consecutive games since Feb. 5-7, 2011, when now-retired backup Martin Biron played two in a row under former coach John Tortorella.
Monday morning, though, Lundqvist threw his weight behind Vigneault's decision to stick with Talbot, 26, who has won six straight starts to compile impressive numbers (6-1-0 record, 1.49 goals against average, .944 save percentage) and is playing well enough to match NHL records set more than 70 years ago.
'This game is not about what you did last year or the last eight years or last month; it's about now,' Lundqvist said. 'And tonight, this is the best decision for the team, and I stand behind that. I just have to see it as a challenge for me to really reach my top level. I'm not satisfied by being OK or (that) I played a solid game. I want to be great. And if I'm not, I'm not gonna be satisfied. So I just need to push myself even harder here.'
Lundqvist's stats have been pedestrian (8-11-0, 2.51 GAA, .917 save percentage), even if the Rangers also have played much better consistently in front of Talbot this season. Still, Vigneault admitted Lundqvist was not happy with sitting on Monday - the same reaction the coach encounters every time he gives his top goalie a night off.
'Well, I've been here for eight years,' Lundqvist said. 'Have I ever been happy sitting on the bench? I don't think so. But, that being said, Cam is playing really well. I see this as a great opportunity for me to get a few days to work really hard on my game and get ready for the next time they tell me to start.'
Like Lundqvist, his Rangers teammates did not view Monday's decision as a change in Lundqvist's standing within the organization.
'Cam's played great,' forward Brian Boyle said. 'He's definitely surprised a lot of people. He's earned this time. But Hank is gonna be our horse, like he always is - down the stretch.'
'Cam's played well,' captain Ryan Callahan said. 'We've got two good goalies right now. It's a good scenario.'
Still, there is context to Lundqvist's extended rest: Rangers GM Glen Sather strangely still has not re-signed his franchise goaltender to a contract extension, negotiations believed to have stalled over the issue of contract length. Vigneault can say Lundqvist is the team's No. 1 goalie, but how long will it be before the absence of an extension combines with current circumstances to get under Lundqvist's skin?
'You know what? During preseason, yeah, I was thinking about (the contract) a lot,' Lundqvist said. 'But after that I put it behind me. I'm focused on the game, I'm focused on practicing and getting better. I haven't really talked about it with a lot of people or with you guys, so that's been good.'
Later, though, when asked if the Rangers need to re-sign him to back up their assertion he remains their No. 1 goalie, Lundqvist clammed up.
'I'm not gonna discuss my contract,' he said.
Vigneault distanced himself from the contract talk.
'Contract discussions are not part of my job description,' said the coach, who clarified the decision to start Talbot on Monday was his alone. 'I'm here to coach the team and try and put the best possible game plan (together) to help us win. As far as everything I know about Henrik, he is one of the highest competitors I've seen in this game. Is he happy about not playing? No. He wants to play. He wants to play every game ... That's what competitors do. And next time we need him, I'm sure he's gonna be ready.'
Talbot, a respectful first-year goalie, is not a rookie due to his age, and he also doesn't sound like a rookie handling delicate situations such as Monday's.
'I just work hard on and off the ice,' he said. 'That's what's gotten me to where I am today, and that's how I'm going to continue doing it moving forward.'
Talbot's effectiveness as an athletic and disciplined goaltender is difficult to ignore. He is the first Rangers goalie to win six consecutive decisions in his first year since Jim Henry won seven straight in 1941-42, according to Elias Sports Bureau. Talbot, originally from Caledonia, Ontario, also is the first NHL goaltender to hold an opponenet to two or fewer goals in each of his first seven starts since Boston's Frank Brimsek did it for 12 starts in 1938-39.
Many thought there would be a chance that Lundqvist would voice displeasure with his coach. On the contrary, Lundqvist, who is 2-5-0 in his last seven starts, focused any of his criticism on himself.
'I look back at the last few games, I did a lot of good things, but for a goalie, if you make one mistake, that's what you remember, and sometimes it's one too many,' he said. 'I know I'm doing a lot of good things, but I just need to cut down a few mistakes.'
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