Henrik Lundqvist has the flu and did not join his New York Rangers for the morning skate ahead of tonight’s home game with Ottawa.
There’s been no official word yet, but it seems likely that Antti Raanta will get the nod against the Senators.
Raanta struggled in his last start, allowing seven goals on 47 shots in a 7-2 loss to Pittsburgh on Dec. 20. He then relieved Lundqvist three days later, allowing two goals on seven shots in a 7-4 loss to Minnesota.
Obviously, losing 7-2 then 7-4 was no great way to head into the Christmas break.
“There’s no excuse,” head coach Alain Vigneault told reporters after the loss to the Wild. “We had one line -- (Stepan’s) line -- bring out their ‘A’ game and the rest weren’t good enough from the goaltender on out.”
Despite the back-to-back defeats, the Rangers still have a very respectable record of 23-12-1. Their next game after tonight’s is Thursday in Arizona. They also play Saturday in Colorado before returning home to face Buffalo next Tuesday.
