The NHL's second star of the week has earned another start over Henrik Lundqvist.
Antti Raanta will man the crease when the New York Rangers welcome the Chicago Blackhawks to Madison Square Garden on Tuesday, head coach Alain Vigneault confirmed to NHL.com's Dan Rosen, stating: "He deserves to play."
The start comes on the back of two straight shutouts for Raanta, and will mark the fourth contest in a row that Vigneault has handed the reigns to his backup over the former Vezina Trophy winner.
The stretch will mark the first time in Lundqvist's career that he has sat four straight games while healthy, according to Rosen.
Antti Raanta said it's "pretty special if you can rob games from Hank," but "everybody knows who the No. 1 is here."
— Dan Rosen (@drosennhl) December 13, 2016
Raanta has allowed just one goal in his last three games and is now 8-1-0 in 11 appearances this season, having posted a 1.65 goals-against average and a .943 save percentage. Meanwhile, Lundqvist has conceded 10 goals over his last three contests.
Copyright © 2016 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.