NEW YORK _ No coach in the NHL is facing as much scrutiny over his nightly goalie choice as David Quinn.
That's because no team is carrying three goalies quite as intriguing as the trio the Rangers have had on their roster for the past month.
There's the aging legend Henrik Lundqvist. There's the evolving youngster Alexandar Georgiev. And there's the lauded rookie Igor Shesterkin.
As Quinn has repeated several times, "there's a lot that goes into these decisions" regarding who will play each game.
The biggest factor, of course, is playing the goalie he thinks will give them the best chance to win that day.
"When a guy's hot, you want to play him," Quinn said following Monday's morning skate at Madison Square Garden.
The hot hand appeared to be Lundqvist heading into Monday's game against the Dallas Stars.
The 37-year-old played only twice in the month of January, but after posting a shutout in Saturday's win over the last-place Detroit Red Wings, Quinn decided to start him for the second consecutive game.
It likely won't reach three in a row after Lundqvist and the Rangers suffered a 5-3 loss.
Two days after earning his first shutout since Nov. 19, 2017, Lundqvist stopped only 11 of the 15 shots he faced. It was a letdown performance after one of his best of the season, although he wasn't helped by the Rangers' propensity for allowing odd-man rushes.
He was replaced for the third period by Georgiev, who allowed one goal and finished with five saves.
Barring another shutout Monday, Lundqvist almost certainly wouldn't have started Wednesday's home game against the Toronto Maple Leafs anyway. It'll be rare for Quinn to go with any goalie three times in a row as long as Lundqvist, Georgiev and Shesterkin are on the active roster.
"A guy might play two great games and get two wins, yet a guy who has been playing well hasn't played and you want to get him in there," Quinn said.
The delicate juggling act continues.
"It's hard," Quinn said when asked if he could envision playing the same goalie for three or four games in a row. "But if the other two aren't doing what they're supposed to be doing, or there's a guy clearly playing better than the other two, then that's what will happen."
