Following the Christmas break, the New York Rangers were starting Antti Raanta in net once again for their first game following the three days off, but it wasn’t because of injury. Henrik Lundqvist, the main man for the blueshirts, has been battling the flu since the holidays and was too ill to start. Â The team was forced to start their Finnish backup as well as recall Brandon Halverson from Hartford on emergency basis.
At Tuesday morning’s practice prior to their game against the Ottawa Senators, Lundqvist was too ill to even take part in skate, with Raanta putting in the extra work. Head coach Alain Vigneault immediately sat out his starting goaltender. The beginning of the game proved tough for the Rangers as they were down 3-1 following the first period, but the team fired back and won 4-3 against Ottawa thanks to two goals each from Nick Holden and Derek Stepan.
The Rangers are currently on a 2-game road trip to Phoenix and Denver to play the Coyotes and Avalanche, respectively, and Antti Raanta will be in net for the Rangers on Thursday. AV says, “Henrik is less than 50/50. He had some fluids, but we’re going with Antti tonight.” This trip is also the team’s annual family trip, with siblings visiting the team including Lundqvist’s sister Gabriella and Chris Kreider’s sister Katie.
