Henrik Lundqvist should be in goal for Rangers

New York Rangers coach Alain Vigneault can deliberate all he wants over an enviable decision, but the appropriate choice is to start goaltender Henrik Lundqvist against the Chicago Blackhawks at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday (7 p.m. ET; NBCSN, SN, TVA Sports, MSG2, CSN-CH).
The good thing for Vigneault is he appears to be in fantastic position now to make what should be an easy decision.
On one side, he has Antti Raanta, a backup goalie playing lights-out, as if he was a No. 1. Raanta has an active shutout streak of 151:04. Vigneault has used him for three straight games covering a span of four days starting last Thursday, and he delivered with three wins and one goal-against on 63 shots. He was named the NHL's Second Star for the week ending Dec. 11 on Monday.

On the other side, he has Lundqvist, the Rangers' best and most valuable player for the past decade. But he's been struggling. He's publicly supported Raanta and the decision to start him while he works on areas of his game that have sagged, short-side shots to his glove side in particular.
The easy choice for Vigneault, based on recent play, is to start Raanta, who had a 26-save shutout in a 1-0 overtime win against the Blackhawks on Friday. Fans and some media undoubtedly will question the coach if he doesn't start Raanta. It's about winning now and Raanta has given the Rangers a chance to win of late.

The traditional approach is to ride the hot goalie, regardless of his place on the depth chart, until he cools off. That's why Vigneault can start Raanta and have a very good reason for it.
But he shouldn't.
Logic dictates that at some point soon Vigneault will have to go back to Lundqvist considering he's the Rangers' No. 1 and he can't sit for too long. The time is perfect for Vigneault to give Lundqvist the net back Tuesday for three distinct reasons:
1. Lundqvist has had a week since his last game. He allowed four goals on 32 shots in a 4-3 loss at the New York Islanders on Dec. 6. That's enough time for him to get his head right and to work with goaltending coach Benoit Allaire to make the necessary technical corrections.
It's not as if Lundqvist has been too far off his game this season. The main issue is he's been guilty of allowing the third goal too often. It's happened eight times in his 20 starts; he's 2-6-0 with a 3.63 goals-against average and .863 save percentage in those games. But Lundqvist is 10-1-1 with a 1.74 GAA and .943 save percentage in his other 12 starts.
There is precedent to believe Lundqvist will respond to the time off. The last time he sat for three consecutive games when healthy (Dec. 22-27, 2013), Lundqvist responded by winning his next two starts with a .935 save percentage (58 saves on 62 shots).
Lundqvist started the 2013-14 season 10-15-2 with a 2.77 GAA and .905 save percentage in his first 28 games. After sitting out the three games in December, he went 23-9-3 with a 2.07 GAA and .931 save percentage in his final 35 starts and the Rangers reached the Stanley Cup Final.
Lundqvist is 12-8-1 with a 2.55 GAA and .912 save percentage in 21 games this season. It's realistic to think history could repeat itself.

2. There is no reason for Vigneault to wait for Raanta to have a subpar performance before going back to Lundqvist. By starting Lundqvist on Tuesday, Vigneault is reminding Raanta (not as if he actually should need a reminder) that Lundqvist still is the king in New York, while also ensuring that Raanta doesn't have anything happen to him in a game that would take away from his soaring confidence.
Raanta understands his place on the depth chart. He can't for one second think that the net is his to lose now. That's why it would be good for him and the Rangers that Raanta resume his role as a backup with the understanding that his game is at a starter's level, and know that Vigneault will use him again soon.
Starting Tuesday, the Rangers have five games in the next eight days and six games in 11 days before the Christmas break.
3. The Rangers have re-established their defensive structure in front of the net, which was a problem for them and Lundqvist in their stretch of nine games where they alternated wins and losses from Nov. 20 through Dec. 6.
They allowed an average of 21.0 shots on goal per game in Raanta's three straight starts after allowing 31.4 shots on goal in their previous nine games. They also have been attacking more, with 30.7 shots on goal per game in the past three games after generating 27.9 in their previous nine.
It makes sense to put Lundqvist back in when the Rangers are playing better in front of him.
Raanta has done everything right, everything that would warrant another start Tuesday. The Rangers' season, however, is bigger than a game against the Blackhawks in mid-December. They need to get Lundqvist going again. Vigneault shouldn't wait any longer.