Lundqvist On WFAN: Rangers Have A Lot Of Work To Do To Get Back To The Final

NEW YORK (WFAN) -- He's ready, willing and able to make another run at a championship.

Henrik Lundqvist told WFAN's Mike Francesa on Tuesday afternoon that he's in a good place physically as the Rangers ready for their opening round playoff series against Pittsburgh.

After missing nearly two months with a neck injury, the veteran goaltender said the seven games he played in at the end of the regular season went a long way toward preparing him both mentally and physically for the challenges Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and the rest of the Penguins will pose starting Thursday night at Madison Square Garden.

"I think right now I don't feel any different. I don't think I will feel any different in two or three weeks. But our goal is, obviously, to play in June or late May," Lundqvist said. "If everything goes our way, I might feel a difference then. I feel energized to be back, but it's hard to tell a difference right now."

Lundqvist was asked if the Rangers feel extra pressure to win the Stanley Cup, considering they made it to the Final last season and then followed that up by posting a franchise-record 53 wins and 113 points during the 2014-15 regular season.

"Yes and no. I think we are all aware that if you win the league people are going to expect something good out of that. But most pressure you put on yourself and the pressure we put in that room," said Lundqvist, who finished the season 30-13-3 with five shutouts, a 2.25 goals-against average and .922 save percentage. "We want to succeed and we want to have great playoffs and we want to try to win but to do that we just need to focus on the first game. It's as simple as that.

"I really feel like the cup is far away. It's like two months away and you don't really focus on that," he added. "You just focus on one game against Pittsburgh on Thursday and then you try to build after each game, and try to do even better and come back with another win. That's how we approach this."

The Rangers are a balanced team offensively, with seven players scoring at least 40 points, and finished third overall in goals allowed, giving up just 192. They have speed, size, grit and experience, but it remains to be seen if they will be as good as they were during last spring's playoffs.

As Lundqvist put it, it's all about "battle will."

"You have to work extremely hard. Even though things have been going our way, we have to bring it to another level if he want to win in the playoffs," he said. "It's that much harder. The teams are better. The pressure ... the way everyone competes is higher. To have success in the playoffs you need to raise your game and your intensity and the will and that's what we're looking for."

The Rangers will play Game 2 at home on Saturday before the series shifts to Pittsburgh next week.

To hear Lundqvist's complete interview with Francesa, please click on the audio link below.