King returns, ready to fight for his throne
INCUMBENCY has its rewards, and especially so when it is accompanied by a 10-2 record with a 2.52 GAA and a .932 save percentage. So yes, Igor Shesterkin is the presumptive No. 1 as the Rangers prepare for their qualifying-round matchup against Carolina that will commence in the Toronto bubble Aug. 1.
But Henrik Lundqvist did not return from Sweden for this coronavirus-delayed completion to 2019-20 to sit and watch the way he did most of the final two months of regular-season play when he started only three of his team’s final 25 games, and one of the final 18.
You bet he will approach this training camp as his Last Dance.
He came to compete with Shesterkin, he came to compete with Alexandar Georgiev, he came to compete the way he has since the moment he arrived in New York in September 2005 and quickly established himself as both the face and the backbone of the franchise.
Few pro athletes have ever represented themselves, their teams and our city so well for so long. But here is the thing: If this is the time for the King to say so long to New York, it won’t be without a fight. Indeed, Lundqvist has been preparing for this for months.
“I can say that going back to Sweden during this break, I spent a lot of time with my family, some with my friends and it also gave me an opportunity to work on my game a little bit, technically, physically and mentally,” said the goaltender whose homeland did not mandate the same virus-related protocols, restrictions and mandates as most other European countries. “I feel like coming back now, I’m in a really good place in all three [of those] areas.
“So I feel very excited to start the camp and obviously there are three guys for one spot, so we’ll see who gets to play. But I’m not looking too far. Again, the three things I try to control and can control — physical, technical and mental — I feel like I’m well-prepared there. I’ll give it all my energy during camp and we’ll see what happens.”
David Quinn made it clear that he is not running a tryout camp here. The Rangers are going to dance with the ones that earned them the 18-10-1 record over the final nine-plus weeks of the season that elevated the team into this unique qualifier. Of course, there was a qualifier, too, from the coach about the goaltending position.
“A lot is going to go into the decision because of the unique circumstances,” said Quinn. “I actually had a meeting with all three of them today to tell them how important the next three weeks are going to be. But that being said, it’s not just about these [next] three weeks. There are a lot of other things to take into consideration — Henrik’s success against [Carolina], the seasons guys were having, what was going on when we left off …
“So there’s going to be a lot that goes into it, but this one position probably more than any, these next three weeks are going to be pivotal.”
Lundqvist has started 128 of the team’s 129 playoff games since he joined the team in 2005, and 127 straight. You bet he wants to extend that postseason streak.
“This is a restart,” the 38-yearold said. “I don’t think anybody has been through this before. I look at it, back [to what I said] about controlling what I can control. I feel really good, I’m exactly back, I have trained well, mentally I feel like I’m well-prepared, so we just have to wait and see. But you just have to enjoy it, too.”
Quinn needs all three of his goaltenders at the top of their games. You cannot ensure, despite taking all precautions as the Rangers have
done in a thorough manner, good health. Depth in goal will almost certainly become a significant asset in order for the Rangers to make something of this opportunity.
“I think there shouldn’t be any limits as how we look at ourselves and what we can accomplish,” Lundqvist said. “At the same time, we should stay humble to look at this challenge. You could lose the first round, but you also could go all the way. And I think a lot of teams feel the same way, especially in this situation where you’ve been away from the game for so long and are coming in and playing in an environment where nobody’s been before.
“Personally, I just take it day by day here, and work as hard as I can. We’ll see if it’s enough to play, and if it’s not enough to play, I’ll try to be very supportive and we’ll just go from there.”