Alexandar Georgiev gets the start in net on his 23rd birthday
Rangers goaltender Alexandar Georgiev makes a save as defenseman Adam McQuaid looks on during the second period against the Toronto Maple Leafs at Madison Square Garden on Sunday, Feb. 10, 2019. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
Alexandar Georgiev got the start in goal on his 23rd birthday.
“Georgie played well last game,’’ David Quinn said when asked why Georgiev, and not Henrik Lundqvist, got the start. “I thought Hank played real well the other night [in the 3-0 loss to Carolina] . . . Hank will play in Winnipeg [on Tuesday].’’
Georgiev said he hasn’t been able to truly celebrate his birthday for the past few years. “I don’t think I’ve had a proper birthday for four or five years in a row now,’’ he said. “It’s always a game day.’’
Last year he got called up from AHL Hartford on his birthday. The Wolf Pack were in Syracuse at the time, and Georgiev had to fly to Winnipeg to meet the Rangers. He missed his connecting flight, had to wait for another and spent most of the day in the airport.
No ‘home vacations’
Quinn was asked if any thought was given to bringing 20-year-old rookie Brett Howden — out with a sprained MCL in his right knee — with the team on the trip to Winnipeg so he could get a chance to go home. The answer was most likely not.
“Well, day to day, you kind of evaluate the player, and if we think bringing him with us to continue to skate is going to be beneficial for him . . . but it’s such a short trip, I highly doubt it,’’ Quinn said. Then, after a pause: “We’re not in the business of giving home vacations.’’
Prospect injured
Defenseman K’Andre Miller, one of the Rangers’ three first-round draft picks last summer, suffered an apparent injury to his left knee/leg when he crashed into the end boards in his game for the University of Wisconsin against Ohio State on Saturday night. A team spokesman said Sunday that the Rangers had heard “nothing yet’’ regarding the severity of Miller’s injury.
Colin Stephenson covers the Rangers for Newsday. He has spent more than two decades covering the NHL and just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.
