New York Rangers Antti Raanta To Be Sidelined 7-10 Days
New York Rangers backup goaltender Antti Raanta is expected to miss 7-10 days with a lower body injury.
The New York Rangers have battled the injury bug all season. They seem to lose a different player on a nightly basis, as their projected lineup heading into the season has played very few games with each other. They are now adding another player to the injury list in Antti Raanta.
The Rangers backup goaltender will be sidelined at least 7-10 days as he deals with a lower-body injury. Raanta was forced from the Rangers game on Saturday against the Montreal Canadiens after the first period because of the injury.
This is an unfortunate injury, as Raanta has been having a strong season thus far for the Rangers. He has appeared in 18 games, making 15 starts, with a record of 10-4. He is allowing 2.23 goals against with a 92.3 save percentage. He is seventh in the NHL in goals against average and 11th in save percentage.
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Raanta had a hot stretch early in December that had kept starting goaltender Henrik Lundqvist riding the bench. in a three-game stretch, Raanta went 3-0, registering two shutouts. He allowed only one goal on 63 shot attempts for a stellar 98.4 save percentage.
With Raanta sidelined, the Rangers had to make a move for a backup to Lundqvist. They recalled Magnus Hellberg from the AHL Hartford Wolfpack to take Raanta’s place as the backup. Hellberg has been okay with the Wolfpack, going 10-9-4 with a 90.1 save percentage and 2.91 goals against average.
Expect Lundqvist to start as often as possible as long as Raanta is sidelined. If he is able to return during the 7-10 day timetable, he will miss only five games. There is one back-to-back set mixed in, so that is when we could possibly see Hellberg get in the net.
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To make room for Hellberg on the roster, the Rangers assigned left wing Marek Hrivik to the Wolf Pack. The Rangers are also expected to welcome back winger Mika Zibanejad tonight against the Dallas Stars. Zibanejad has been sidelined since November 20th with a broken leg.