Jim Cerna, beat writer for the New York Rangers official web site, notes in his own blog Rink Rap that only four NHL goaltenders logged more than 4,000 minutes of playing time last season: Calgary's Miikka Kiprusoff, Marty Turco of Dallas, Henrik Lundqvist, and Minnesota's Niklas Backstrom. He feels thatKiprusoff---barring injury---may be the only one of that group to exceed 4,000 minutes this season for various reasons including this one for Lundqvist...
"Lundqvist, who has logged more than 4,000 minutes in each of the last three years, will be Sweden's starting goaltender in the Olympics, adding to his big workload. To avoid completely wearing his franchise goalie out, Rangers coach John Tortorella has already hinted that Steve Valiquette---who won over the coach last season with his strong work ethic, and play when called upon---likely will get the starting nod more often than in the past."
...we all remember what happened to Lundqvist's game after the 2006 Olympics. So there is no doubt that Lundqvist will need much more rest this season. The only question is if Valiquette can handle the workload. My prediction is that he can, but we shall see.
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