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Goalie competition to force big decision for Rangers vs. Hurricanes

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Rangers coach David Quinn explains that Henrik Lundqvist has been a "true teammate" despite the unique goalie situation in New York.

One of the early storylines for the Rangers-Hurricanes Qualifying Round series is what will New York do in goal?

Head coach David Quinn will have three options: Henrik Lundqvist, Igor Shesterkin or Alexandar Georgiev.

Before the March 12 NHL pause, Georgiev (14) and Shesterkin (12) handled the majority of starts, with Lundqvist making only five starts since the calendar turned to 2020. (Shesterkin missed some time in late February after being injured in a car accident with teammate Pavel Buchnevich.)

The best-of-five series with Carolina will provide Quinn with a tough decision. Shesterkin impressed in his 12 NHL appearances (.935 even strength save percentage) and has set himself up to be Lundqvist’s successor. The veteran Lundqvist, whose future in New York is up in the air, has a .919 ESSV% in 30 games this season and was 3-0-0 against the Hurricanes this season.

[MORE: A look at the Eastern Conference matchups]

“We’ve got three guys going in and I like our depth in that position,” Rangers president John Davidson told reporters on Thursday. “I can hardly wait, so whenever the puck drops for training camp, just to watch. There’s going to be a lot of subsets, a lot of small stories that are going to turn into big stories. Who is going to go and be the starting goaltender? If it’s a best-of-5 series, that’s not a long series and you want to get off to a good start. The coaches are going to have to make that decision.”

If NHL training camps get under way mid-July like the players have been told that will have been four months since New York’s last game. Any struggles or successes prior to the stoppage are reset in this unique Return to Play format. That should make it an open competition for the three goalies. But a short series also means little room for error, and barring something unforeseen it should be Shesterkin’s crease to start.

“I know that we’ll have the three guys here, and I think all three are excited,” Davidson said. “I know Hank has been skating. This is going to be a coach’s decision. That’s who it’s up to. The coaches make decisions. I think they’re going to watch and see how camp goes. This is going to be a battle.”

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Sean Leahy is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @Sean_Leahy.