What happens to Henrik Lundqvist if Cam Talbot keeps winning for New York Rangers?

Henrik Lundqvist made his return to the lineup for the New York Rangers last night, but was unable to come away with a victory over the Montreal Canadiens. Since he’s just returning from injury, the Blueshirts clearly don’t want him starting back-to-back games right out of the gate, so they’ll turn back to Cam Talbot as they take on the New York Islanders this evening.

While it makes sense to put Lundqvist on the bench to rest him a bit, could it possibly make sense to keep him there if Talbot comes away with a victory against the Isles?

Recent history suggests that Talbot will put on a strong performance tonight. While he’s only 1-1 on the season, he’s been the better goalie from a numbers standpoint in his limited action. If he’s able to tie Lundqvist’s win mark with only three games played, is there suddenly a goaltender controversy in New York?

Name recognition is one thing. Letting your stars play and letting money play is another. Yet this is a results-oriented business, and Lundqvist hasn’t been getting it done for New York. The Rangers haven’t been putting up a lot of goals in front of him either, but if he keeps losing and Talbot keeps winning, what will the coaching staff do? Their hands would seemingly be tied.

This could be the biggest test for Alain Vigneault in his young tenure as the bench boss with the Rangers. If Talbot goes out and continues to play outstanding, how can he possibly continue to ice a goalie who hasn’t played up to his usual standards recently? This isn’t to suggest that they should can “King” and move forward with Talbot forever and always.

But maybe watching for a week or two from the bench while Talbot goes to work would get Lundqvist going. The fact that this is a contract year for Lundqvist complicates things a bit, but the Rangers want to make the playoffs. So far they haven’t looked like a playoff team in front of Lundqvist.