King gets back on ice again

WASHINGTON — When Henrik Lundqvist took the nets Wednesday to complete the back-to-back assignment that began with Tuesday’s 3-2 shootout victory at the Garden over the Avalanche, that meant he had started six of the Rangers’ seven games.

It also meant Alex Georgiev, the 22-year-old backup, has played just once since his final preseason outing, in Philadelphia on Sept. 27.

Which is why it seems likely Georgiev, who had a tough one in his lone start at Carolina on Oct. 7 while yielding three soft ones of seven overall, will be dispatched to AHL Hartford to get some game action this weekend. The Wolf Pack play in Belleville, Ontario, on Friday and in Toronto on Saturday. The Rangers’ next game is Sunday at the Garden against the Flames.

“Jeff and I will talk about that after,” coach David Quinn said before his club’s 4-3 overtime loss, alluding to general manager Jeff Gorton. “The decision to come back with Hank wasn’t made until this morning, so we haven’t had a chance to discuss it, but it’s certainly something that’s on the table.”

Lundqvist started both ends of back-to-backs eight times last season. He had done so 85 times previously throughout his career, posting a 53-23-7 record with a 2.09 goals-against average and .928 save percentage. He lobbied for this start against the defending Stanley Cup champions.

“He’s one of the best goalies in the league, if not the best right now, so he does have a say,” Quinn said. “Our last two games, we’ve given up less chances so they’ve been easier games for him; not easy, but easier. He’s feeling good, and he and I and [goaltending coach] Benny [Allaire] talked it over and he’s in.

“One of the things Hank and I talked about this summer was that we would talk about situations like this. The way he’s going, the way he feels, plus the fact we have three days until our next game, I thought it was a good time for a back-to-back.”