NHL

With Henrik out, rookie makes debut for Rangers

PHILADELPHIA — Maybe the absence of their safety net in net will stimulate the 2-5 Rangers to tidy up their game,

Maybe they will perform with enhanced desperation and commitment to detail in this Metropolitan Bottom Feeders Bowl on Thursday night against the 1-7 Flyers when Cam Talbot makes his NHL debut while Henrik Lundqvist watches in street clothes, sidelined with the unidentified injury that has prevented the franchise goaltender from practicing the last three days.

“I’m confident [Talbot] is going to play well,” coach Alain Vigneault said. “By playing well, I’m hoping our players are going to rally around this young man, his first opportunity to play an NHL game.”

Lundqvist hasn’t quite been himself through the first three weeks of the season, during which he has recorded a plebian 3.45 GAA and .890 save percentage. But he’s still a security blanket, still an insurance policy, still the foundation of the Rangers’ game … until he isn’t.

“If this would be a playoff game, he would probably be playing,” said Vigneault, who told Talbot at the end of the practice he will be in net. “This is something that [Lundqvist has] had for maybe 10 days but wasn’t anything significant — he played really well in Washington — but acted up a little bit after the Jersey game [on Saturday].

“When he got back the next day, he felt it more. He consulted with the doctors and had some irritation. It’s something that’s day-to-day we think we can nip in the bud. It might take another day or two, and then it will be something we can turn the page on and won’t hear about again.”

Lundqvist, who would have to be considered doubtful for Saturday’s match in Detroit after having been off the ice since the 4-0 defeat to the Devils, has never missed an extended period of time for health reasons through his nine-year NHL career.

The netminder, who has started the Rangers’ last 14 matches in Philadelphia since Steve Valiquette was in net on Oct. 11, 2008, has been sidelined for a couple of games here and there with groin issues and cases of the flu.

The Rangers have been uncharacteristically slipshod in their own end and against the rush, surrendering 29 goals in seven games, though they did minimize their defensive mistakes against the Devils.

One would expect the club to play with more urgency against the Flyers, regardless of the identity of their masked man. Three weeks in and this is almost already about survival.

“You don’t change the way you prepare because the starting goalie is not playing,” Brad Richards said. “Every team goes through that.

“We need this win. In the offensive and neutral zones, it’s like we’ve been taking a step back and waiting for another player to get the puck to you.

“You’ve got to do that yourself, which is what we’ve been talking about all week.”

Talbot, 26 years old, 6-foot-4 and 205 pounds, is in his fourth pro season after having been signed by the Blueshirts in March 2010 as a free agent out of Alabama-Huntsville. He was obviously pumped after being told of the assignment.

“I’ve been waiting a long time for this; I’m extremely excited,” said Talbot, who has had a succession of impressive training camps and has played well for the AHL Wolf Pack. “It’s every kid’s dream that grows up playing hockey to get the chance to play in the NHL.

“I just can’t wait until that time comes.”

The time will come Thursday. The Flyers, who always come hard out of the gate at home, also will presumably be in desperation mode, having been off since Oct. 17 while sitting on four straight defeats.

“It’s going to be tough to control my emotions, but I’ll have to do my best to settle myself down and play my game,” Talbot said. “I know with this as my first game [my teammates] are going to work extra hard for me and I’m going to do the same for them.”