Hartnett: Led By Lundqvist, Rangers' Stanley Cup Window Remains Wide Open
By Sean Hartnett
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Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown.
Franchise goaltender Henrik Lundqvist has carried the hopes of Rangers fans on his back for the past decade, providing otherworldly dominance with every passing year.
A number of columnists have explored the possibility of the 33-year-old netminder hitting a decline in his 11th season. Don't bet on it. The aforementioned quote taken from William Shakespeare's "Henry IV" perfectly sums up King Henrik's disposition.
Restless desire is the driving force that makes Lundqvist a winning character. The self-critiquing Swede is never satisfied with his performance. He is on a never-ending quest to fine tune his game and reach a higher gear. His steely focus between the pipes is unrivaled, forcing teammates to match his intensity.
When Lundqvist speaks, his words flow through the dressing room, setting the tone before the Rangers emerge from tunnel to set foot on a 200-foot sheet of ice. Every teammate soaks in the King's speech. He is the emotional compass of the Broadway Blueshirts.
"His comments, kind of carries through the whole team," winger Rick Nash said during the 2015 Eastern Conference finals. "We're lucky to have a goalie like that. He's the leader of our team."
In 40 days, Lundqvist will lead the Rangers onto the United Center ice, where they will meet the defending Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks in their October 7 season opener. While the Blackhawks will bask in a pregame banner-raising ceremony, the visiting Rangers will have spent all offseason mentally replaying the final 20 minutes of Game 7 of the conference finals.
The Rangers knew that a second consecutive Stanley Cup Final appearance was there for the taking, as the MSG scoreboard read 0-0 heading into the last regulation frame. Lundqvist had made 19 saves to keep the high-powered Tampa Bay Lightning off the score sheet.
A screened Lundqvist was beaten through the five-hole at 1:54 of the third period. Tampa proceeded to finish off a defensive clinic, shutting out the Rangers 2-0 and accepting the Prince of Wales Trophy that New York jubilantly gathered around one year earlier.
No Ranger took the elimination harder than Lundqvist, whose NHL record of six consecutive Game 7 victories was snapped. Visibly stunned, Lundqvist needed to be consoled by backup goaltender Cam Talbot before joining the handshake line.
"It's painful right now, it really is," Lundqvist said. "You put your heart and soul into this entire year to try to get back and get an opportunity to play in the final, and we were 20 minutes away."
Records die – but from defeat, a new story can be written. Lundqvist collected himself to deliver a message of hope to teammates before the media entered the Rangers' dressing room.
"I told the group here we're a great group and we're right there," Lundqvist said.
The window isn't closing on Lundqvist's best years, and neither is the window closing for the Rangers to lift Lord Stanley. As long as Lundqvist staves off Father Time, the Rangers will remain in the bracket of leading Cup contenders.
No other active goalie has delivered a level of consistency comparable to Lundqvist's sparkling regular season and postseason statistics. Since 2009-10, Lundqvist's lowest regular season save percentage is .920. In his past four postseasons, Lundqvist has posted save percentages of .931, .934, .927 and .928.
Perhaps, King Henrik is destined to follow the path of late-career Cup winner Dominik Hasek. Lundqvist's ability to pull off acrobatic and unorthodox saves, his commitment to conditioning, and statistics bear resemblance to "The Dominator." His .921 career regular season save percentage ranks second all-time to Hasek's .922 SV% among goalies that have played over 300 games. Boston Bruins netminder Tuukka Rask and Devils goalie Cory Schneider boast superior career save percentages, but each have done so in a far smaller sample size.
Lundqvist career regular season stats: 620 GP, 339-208-65 record, 55 SO, 2.26 GAA, .921 SV%.
Hasek career regular season stats: 735 GP, 389-223-82-13 record, 81 SO, 2.20 GAA, .922 SV%.
Lundqvist career playoff stats: 111 GP, 54-56 record, 9 SO, 2.22 GAA, .923 SV%.
Hasek career playoff stats: 119 GP, 65-49 record, 14 SO, 2.02 GAA, .925 SV%.
Lundqvist is signed through the 2020-21 season. He will be 40 when his current contract expires. Hasek was 37 when he finally drank from Lord Stanley's Cup as a member of the 2002 Detroit Red Wings. He would later collect a second ring with the Wings as backup to Chris Osgood in 2008. Rangers fans are hoping Lundqvist's wait won't be as long.
Follow Sean on Twitter – @HartnettHockey
