Rangers may be seekin’ Eakin
The Rangers have not forgotten about Cody Eakin’s high, dirty hit on Henrik Lundqvist last month in Dallas as they prepare to host the Stars Tuesday night — no matter how hard Chris Kreider tries to feign otherwise.
“What hit?” Kreider said Monday after practice in Greenburgh, with a smirk. “No, I mean, that’s not something you forget about, obviously. I’m sure someone will have a conversation with (Eakin) about it at some point.”
The Rangers (28-15-1, 57 points) did not retaliate against the Stars center Eakin in that 2-0 win in Dallas on Dec. 15, so any enforcement they deliver at the Garden could easily be argued as overdue.
But they would do well to rally around Lundqvist more than ever on Tuesday against Dallas (18-18-8, 44 points). The slumping goalie continues to search for his game coming off consecutive losses to Toronto and Montreal after their five-day bye week. The sting of three goals allowed in 62 seconds in Saturday night’s 5-4 loss to the Canadiens still lingers.
The return of center Mika Zibanejad, who hasn’t played since Nov. 20 due to a broken left fibula, will help the cause. But this team’s fortunes always hang on No. 30 in net.
“Collectively, guys just have to do their own jobs,” Kreider said. “That can be contagious, and regardless if a guy’s struggling or not, as the cliche goes, a rising tide lifts all ships.”
Alain Vigneault, however, will not have backup Antti Raanta to turn to if Lundqvist and the Rangers’ defense continues to lapse. Raanta (lower-body injury) will miss 7-10 days and is “doubtful” to return prior to the NHL’s All-Star break, the coach said, so he intends to ride Lundqvist for these next five games as call-up Magnus Hellberg sits on the bench as an idle backup.
“It’s a big week for us to respond after this weekend,” Lundqvist said.
Lundqvist (18-11-0, 2.72 GAA, .907 save percentage) could be emboldened by his performance in December in Dallas: After missing 5:31 of action after Eakin’s high, dirty hit, Lundqvist returned and played one of his best games of the year, making 27 saves in a shared shutout with Raanta.
Lundqvist had turned in that stellar performance in response to being a healthy backup behind Raanta (10-4-0, 2.23 GAA, .923 save percentage) for the previous four games. That eclipsed his previous career-long, three-game scratch in December 2013 for Cam Talbot in Vigneault’s first season coaching the team before Lundqvist found his game in a season that ended with the Rangers in the Stanley Cup Final.
“This is a lot like my first year,” Vigneault said Monday, “where we’re getting a real dialed-in and playing real well (Lundqvist on some nights), giving us the best chance to win. And then the other game he’s looking for it a little bit more. But if history is any (indication), he’ll find his groove and be the great goaltender that he is.”
Lundqvist, who has a 4.10 goals against average and .861 save percentage in five appearances this month, said there is only one way he knows how to dig himself out of a rut.
“Work harder,” he said. “Try to stay out (on the ice) there a little longer, try to work harder. But at the same time you don’t want to overthink it or overdo it. There’s been good games and then the last two here, I don’t think I played bad(ly), but I haven’t come up with the big saves at the right times. And that’s the difference.”
And the rest of the Rangers are confident enough in Lundqvist that they aren’t thinking of their goalie as a lost soul, more like a sleeping giant.
“Nothing has changed for us in here, no matter what it looks like from the outside,” defenseman Dan Girardi said. “We always rally around him no matter what. We know he’s one of the best goalies if not the best in the entire league. We always have his back, and he has ours. He’s the man, and that’s how it’s always been since I got here.”
STAAL SKATES AGAIN
Defenseman Marc Staal (concussion), who has not played since Jan. 3, skated for a fourth straight day on Monday, according to Vigneault. He skated with forward Matt Puempel (concussion) prior to the team’s practice. Vigneault said Staal is “coming along, going through the protocol, and so far it’s been good.” The coach expects Puempel to practice with the team on Wednesday if he has no setbacks. . . center Oscar Lindberg skated as an extra defenseman in Monday’s practice and likely will be Tuesday’s healthy scratch with Zibanejad back. Forward Marek Hrivik cleared waivers and was assigned to AHL Hartford to make room for Zibanejad on the roster.