Hartnett: Determined Lundqvist Is Off To A Stellar Start For Rangers

By Sean Hartnett
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Henrik Lundqvist is at the top of his game -- and it's the biggest reason why the Rangers stand alone atop the Metropolitan Division at 8-2-2.

The 33-year-old netminder was at his steely best in Tuesday's 5-2 victory over the Washington Capitals, making 32 saves in a standout performance.

Lundqvist protected the fort when the Caps dominated the second period, pinning the Rangers in the defensive zone for multiple extended spells. During the second frame, Washington recorded 25 shot attempts to the Rangers' six and 13 five-on-five scoring chances compared to New York's four. The Caps logged 14 shots on goal in the period, while the Blueshirts mustered just two.

"Hankie played really well tonight," forward Kevin Hayes said. "We only had two shots there in the second. We played a lot of the period in our zone. Hankie really bailed us out. He's having a great start to the season. It shows how hard he worked over the summer. He definitely bailed us out tonight."

The typically slow-starting Lundqvist was challenged by head coach Alain Vigneault to improve his mental focus this summer and only appeared in three preseason games, while placing a greater emphasis on practices. He received extra attention from goaltending coach Benoit Allaire, whom Rangers radio and television analyst Dave Maloney often refers to as "The Goalie Whisperer."

"The last thing he told me before I went back to Sweden was 'you have to be better when we start.' That stayed with me the entire summer coming back to camp," Lundqvist said when recalling his conversation with Vigneault. "With Benny, we put out a good plan to be as ready as I could be and I felt like I was in a good phase when we started playing."

A number of leading columnists pondered whether this would be the year Lundqvist finally slows down. Through 10 games, all evidence suggests that "King Henrik" is on his way toward putting together another elite campaign between the pipes. Lundqvist is 6-2-2 with a 1.88 goals-against average and a .943 save percentage.

"He works hard all the time, but obviously there was a good focus between him and Benoit on how to prepare himself for this start," Vigneault said. "He's certainly a big reason we have been winning a lot of games."

Observing practices where Lundqvist's boundless intensity is on full display has been an eye-opening experience for rookie defenseman Dylan McIlrath.

"Coming up the ranks, I felt like I played with some pretty good goalies, but this a whole new level," McIlrath told WFAN.com. "This is world class. He's very committed to his work ethic and he's very intense. He wants to perfect his craft. He holds himself very accountable. When you see him getting angry when we score in practice, it's because he wants to make every save."

Backup goaltender Antti Raanta shared a memory from earlier in the season that conveys just how obsessive Lundqvist is when it comes to fine-tuning his game. In the aftermath of a 3-2 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers on Oct. 24, Lundqvist was embarrassed because he allowed fancy shootout goals to Sam Gagner and Claude Giroux.

"If you follow him for one day, you can see that he's not giving up anything," Raanta told WFAN.com. "After the Philly game when we lost in the shootout, he said 'I'm so bad at shootouts right now.' I was like, 'I don't think so, they were pretty good moves.' The next day, he was practicing shootouts only for 10 minutes. That's why he's the best goalie in the world. He's always trying to work on the things he feels needs to get work."

Painstaking self-examination and unquenchable competitiveness is what allows Lundqvist to still be the king of goalies at his age.

Follow Sean on Twitter at @HartnettHockey