Ducks goalie Ilya Bryzgalov 'in great shape' for Honda Center debut

The Bryz is finally ready to make his Honda Center debut.

Ilya Bryzgalov was the first goalie off the ice after Wednesday's morning skate and Ducks coach Bruce Boudreau confirmed that he will be in net against the Rangers. Frederik Andersen, who has started 27 of the last 28 games for the Ducks, will get a much-needed night off.

"He's in shape now, he's had a lot of practices," said coach Bruce Boudreau. "I thought after the Ottawa game that we might have thrown him in too early and we wanted to make sure that he was totally ready for both him and us. It's not good putting in a guy that's not ready to play and that's not fair to him. But he's practiced really well and really hard."

Bryzgalov logged a pair of lackluster performances during the Canada swing but his play was more out of the necessity to relieve the beleaguered Andersen. His start in Ottawa came only about two weeks after his December signing and the results were indicative of the shape that he was in: He gave up six goals and made 25 saves.

The decision was made to give him as much time as he needed to get back into playing shape. Roloson worked with Bryzgalov on a training regimen both on and off the ice and he's been able to travel with the team and face shots in practices. He's looked sharper and sharper each day and he's anxious to face shots from someone other than his own teammates.

"You look much more focused and sharp because you have more time on the ice to spend on drills," Bryzgalov said. "I can focus on shots, I fixed some problems that I had before because I didn't have much time to practice before I played the first game."

In Bryzgalov's only two appearances in net, Bryzgalov has allowed a total of eight goals and 30 saves (.789 save percentage). But he insists that there were a few positives that he was able to take from those games and from his recent practices. Boudreau is encouraged by his movement in the net and the way he's been following the puck.

Bryzgalov himself is encouraged by how hard he's worked to get his body, his skills and his confidence ready. He's not expecting to win the Vezina, but he wants to contribute and give his team a chance to win.

"You feel different inside, more calm," he said. "Every day you're going to get better and better. It depends how hard you're working, if you're not working hard or if you fool around in practice all year, it's not going to pay off. If you play every day with the honesty and passion, eventually it's going to pay off and you're going to be better and better and better."

Giving Bryzgalov a start against the third-highest scoring team in the league might be a risk, but after weeks of diligent practice, it's one that the Ducks are willing to take.

"What better way to test him than against the best," Boudreau said.