Lundqvist Needs a Rest

You don't have to tell me the importance of sweeping the upcoming Florida excursion. Anything less than four points in the Rangers' next two games could be disastrous. That is why John Tortorella needs to be willing to allow Alex Auld to start one of the games this weekend.

The Rangers had a young backup in Chad Johnson who had acquitted himself perfectly well in his few starts after replacing Stephen Valiquette. Yet, Glen Sather felt it necessary to spend cap dollars on an experienced backup for Henrik Lundqvist. If Auld does not spell Lundqvist either in Tampa or Miami this weekend, it will have been still more wasted cap money.

But, more importantly, Lundqvist has played more than any goalie in the league since the start of the Olympics, and right now, it shows. The fact -and it's a troubling one- is that The King has given up three soft goals in the last 65 minutes of play. Last night against the Islanders, it was Lundqvist's teammates who bailed him out, not the other way around.

John Tortorella needs to show his team that he believes they can win with someone other than Lundqvist in net. Lundqvist, meanwhile, needs a much deserved rest. And the Rangers? They need two wins this weekend. The chances of that happening is increased by the simple, time-tested decision to split the goaltending duties in back-to-back games.