Alexandar Georgiev is well aware things might change for him this season, as the Rangers’ goaltending situation enters the very early stages of transition. But that doesn’t mean he’s approaching things any differently.
“I’m just looking at it like it’s the same preseason as last year — focus on my game, playing good and showing that I’m a great goalie,” Georgiev told The Post as he is set to be the presumptive backup to 37-year-old Henrik Lundqvist for the second straight season.
Barring a trade of Georgiev — which, if it happens, is more likely to happen later in the season — that would start hyped 23-year-old Russian Igor Shesterkin in AHL Hartford as he adjusts to his his first year in North America after leaving the KHL.
“I want to have a really good camp,” Georgiev said, “and better start of the season than last year. That’s my focus.”
Georgiev, 23, came on at the end of last season, when he became the de facto starter soon after the trade deadline. He finished the year with a 2.91 goals-against average and .914 save percentage in 33 games (30 starts). The affable Bulgarian then spent most of the summer in Finland training with two of the best offensive players in the game — Patrik Laine and Mikko Rantanen.
Now, with Shesterkin here, it would be natural to feel some pressure. But that’s not what Georgiev is thinking.
“It’s a long season. You can’t be thinking about what’s going to happen,” Georgiev said. “I can push myself pretty well on my own.”
Shesterkin had a rough practice, first getting barreled over by Connor Brickley, and then, less than a minute later, taking a bit of a shot to the head from Brendan Lemieux — which also seemed to tweak something in Shesterkin’s left leg.
After being slow to get up, Shesterkin shook it off and stayed in.
“He’s well protected, a lot of equipment on, so I wasn’t too worried,” coach David Quinn said.
Defenseman Matt Robertson, a second-round pick (No. 49 overall), tweaked his groin in practice on Saturday and stayed off the ice Sunday. The 18-year-old is considered day-to-day.
Tony DeAngelo missed another day of training camp as the restricted free agent defenseman’s holdout for a new contract continued.
Credit: Source link
The post Alexandar Georgiev’s mindset with hyped Rangers goalie lurking appeared first on Fox USA Live.
from WordPress https://ift.tt/2ZZ7El9
Comments
Post a Comment
Thank