Jonathan Quick has posted a far better goals-against average this season than he did during his first two years with the Rangers, but the frequency of wins has not come for the veteran backup goalie.
The Rangers have scored just six goals in the past five games started by Quick, including Sunday’s 2-1 loss to the Predators in Nashville, Tenn.
The two-time Stanley Cup winner has posted a record of just 3-5-1 in nine starts despite a sterling 1.79 GAA.
By contrast, Quick went 29-13-4 with a combined goals-against of 2.87 over 51 appearances during his first two seasons in New York following 16 seasons with the Kings.
The 39-year-old Quick, who was unavailable for a couple of weeks recently with a lower-body injury, stopped 30 of 31 shots against the Predators to increase his save percentage for the season to a career-best .937.
“Definitely, Quickie was unbelievable [Sunday night], and it definitely sucks when your goalie is playing like that and you’re not able to get any [goals],” defenseman Braden Schneider said after the game. “So it’s something that’s disappointing, but we’ll move forward from it.”
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.
