Rangers' Pavelec out 2-3 weeks with sprained MCL

New York Rangers goaltender Ondrej Pavelec will be out for two-to-three weeks with a sprained MCL, the team announced Sunday.

Pavelec has gone 4-7-1 with a .910 save percentage and a 3.01 goals-against average in his first season as a Ranger serving as Henrik Lundqvist's backup. He spent the previous 10 years of his career with the Atlanta Thrashers/Winnipeg Jets organization.

Fellow Czech native and former Nashville Predators netminder Marek Mazanec seems poised to get called up in Pavelec's absence. He's spent most of the season as Alexandar Georgiev's backup in the AHL, but his 31 games of NHL experience would seemingly give him the edge for the temporary role.