New York Rangers' Alex Georgiev enjoys playing time in Hartford
(Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)

New York Rangers backup goalie Alexandar Georgiev has seen plenty of action in Hartford this year and he enjoys doing so. 

Dom Renna

When you are the New York Rangers backup goalie you aren’t going to see a great amount of playing time. For Alexandar Georgiev, that means he will see some action and Hartford and he does not mind that one bit.

In an interview with Brett Cyrgalis of the New York Post, Georgiev says he completely understands the plan and knows the time in Hartford is important for his development.

“My mindset is that it’s a great thing for me. I improve as a goalie in those games. That’s my mindset.”

Georgiev has appeared in 12 games this season with both the Rangers and the Wolf Pack. In four games in Hartford, he’s posted a .911 save percentage and a 2.77 goals-against-average. With the Blueshirts, he’s 4-4-0 with a .899 save percentage and a 3.37 goals-against-average.

The idea is that Georgiev continues to play while still contributing at the NHL level. This is not an unordinary practice, especially considering how close Hartford is to the Rangers. Nashville did the same thing with Juuse Saros the last two season sending him to their AHL affiliate to keep him on his game.

You have to love the attitude Georgiev has when it comes to this. Some players take a demotion to the minors to hear but, not Georgiev. He knows the team has a plan and is completely willing to help both the Rangers and Wolf Pack.

“I’m glad that I’m getting playing time,” Georgiev told Cyrgalis. “I’m happy to help the team here. Guys are working hard, you can see that. So I’m just trying to play great games here.”

The expectation is for Georgiev to return to the Rangers once they get back to game action after having five days in a row off.

With the way the schedule looks, you might see Georgiev back in Hartford sometime in January but, that’s it. Once the month of February starts the Blueshirts will only have back-to-back days off twice meaning he will see plenty of game action at the NHL level soon.

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Dominick is a graduate of Canisius College. He has covered the Rangers for the last seven seasons and the Yankees for the last four.