A familiar face is no longer occupying the New York Rangers' crease, but he appears to be at peace with the decision.

Henrik Lundqvist has ceded starting duties to backup netminder Antti Raanta, who'll lead the Rangers out for the third straight game Sunday against the New Jersey Devils.

It will be the first time Lundqvist sits against the Devils at Madison Square Garden in about 10 years, according to Newsday's Steve Zipay.

Losing a starting job can't be easy, particularly for someone so accustomed to having one, but Lundqvist is saying all the right things.

"If (Raanta) hadn't played that well and I'm still sitting here, that would be hard to accept," the one-time Vezina Trophy winner told Zipay, later adding. "It's about what's best for the team right now, it's not about me."

Raanta is 7-1-0 with a 1.83 GAA and a .939 save percentage in 10 games, and he's allowed only three goals combined in his last three starts, including back-to-back victories Thursday and Friday that culminated in a shutout of the Chicago Blackhawks.

Lundqvist has shouldered a heavier workload, as expected, but his performance hasn't been inspiring. He's 12-8-1 with a 2.55 GAA and a .912 save percentage in 21 contests.

"Antti is definitely playing well and deserves to play tonight and that’s what we’re doing," Rangers head coach Alain Vigneault said Sunday, adding, "(Henrik)'s like all our players, (he has) a team-first attitude and right now, there's no doubt Antti's playing well and deserves to play."

Whether it's a changing of the guard or simply a case of riding the hot hand, Lundqvist isn't questioning it.

"You know I like to play and a lot of times that's how I get into a nice rhythm, but (it's) hard to argue when Antti's playing that well," he said.

Despite the Rangers' back-to-back wins, they've cooled off a bit since their scorching start and now trail the Pittsburgh Penguins - who have the same number of points but hold a game in hand - for the Metropolitan Division lead.

Lundqvist hasn't played since he allowed four goals in a loss to the New York Islanders last Tuesday.

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