Seventeen days.
That's how long it's been between starts for Kevin Weekes.
Instead of being fed to the Sharks tomorrow, he is being thrown to the wolves, er, Ducks tonight.
Weekes, who was the team's No. 1 keeper before rookie Henrik Lundqvist's emergence last season, had an unenviable task against the Ducks, who were undefeated in regulation this season at 9-0-3.
"I'm looking for 'great' right now," said Rangers coach Tom Renney, referring to both Weekes and his 5-6 team. If Weekes, 31, who hasn't played since a 7-3 strafing by the Sabres in Buffalo on Oct. 14, performs well, Renney said, "I'd come back with him (against San Jose tonight.)"
Me, I'm looking for competitive. I might've played Henrik tonight and played Weekes tomorrow.
If Weekes doesn't catch lighting in his glove, he will be returned to backup status to Lundqvist, despite the fact that the Swede is not flashing the form of his sensational freshman year. For Weekes, a 12-year veteran, that means playing far fewer than the 32 games in which he appeared last season.
Weekes, who was 14-14-3 with a 2.95 goals-against-average last year, has handled his change in roles with class. He remains one of the most vocal Rangers on the bench, although he is in the final year of his contract and---with 2004 first-round draft pick Al Montoya in Hartford----could be traded before season's end to a team looking for experience in the crease.
****
Back in training camp, defenseman Darius Kasparaitis lost the "A" on his sweater to Martin Straka. Tuesday he was shipped to Hartford on a 10-day conditioning assignment and Kasparaitis, 34, felt he didn't get a fair shake. "Right from the beginning of training camp, I had a feeling they weren't 100 percent behind me because I came not fully recovered and ready to play," he told my pal Bruce Berlet of the Hartford Courant, one of Newsday's sister papers, at the morning skate yesterday.
"Every practice and game in New York, I felt like I was being watched under the microscope..If I play good, then maybe they bring me back," said Kasparaitis. "If I play average, they're probably going to put me on waivers." Kasparaitis, who is earning $2.9 million this season, has been laboring since his shoulder surgery in May and a sports hernia operation in June, was on the ice for three goals in the 4-1 loss to the Kings on Monday. That sealed his fate.
"Nobody ever questions me about my heart or work ethic, and all I needed was a little support," he said. "I played six games, some of them not as well as I would have liked, but I don't think that’s enough time to get back and be the player I was. And the team wasn't playing that good, which is tough. But I’m going to work my way back. I don't know where, but I'm looking forward to playing in the NHL again. I know I can play there."
Not sure I agree.