Lundqvist looks for consistency
AN UNUSUAL year featuring several stops-and-starts — from a newly instituted bye week to the All-Star break, a brief fourgame spell giving way to an in-form Antti Raanta, a bout with the flu and a hip injury — finished with Henrik Lundqvist posting career-worsts with a 2.74 goals-against average and .910 save percentage in his 12th NHL season.
With the bye week returning for its second season, Lundqvist said “it’s up to me to prove” he can better handle the stops-andstarts and be more like the goaltender he was in the first round of the playoffs against Montreal, but he doesn't want to overthink it.
“There were certain things last year I need to improve for sure, but there’s also a lot of good things I need to remind myself of going into this season and this camp,” Lundqvist said Sunday at Chelsea Piers, where he was hosting his Citi Hockey Fantasy ProCamp. “I’ll have meetings with (goalie coach Benoit Allaire) about my game and game plan, how to practice and how to improve.
“I want to improve, but the way I played in the Montreal series, that’s the way I want to play — and I did for a lot of games. I think it was just a little inconsistent at times during the season. Correct that and we’ll be in good shape.”
The 35-year-old Lundqvist — who's been skating for a month and whose knee is 100% after he suffered an MCL sprain during the world championships — was dominant during the first round against Montreal with a 1.70 GAA and .947 save percentage before the Rangers let a second-round series against Ottawa slip away with lategame letdowns.
That crushing six-game loss to Ottawa led to significant changes for the Rangers during the offseason, the buying out of Dan Girardi and the trading of Derek Stepan along with a marquee addition in Kevin Shattenkirk.
“It’ll probably be a little different,” Lundqvist said of not having Girardi in front of him on the ice. “I’m so used to seeing him in the locker room. I always knew what to expect from him, the way he played. I really appreciated the way he played. We had a lot of good years together. The way he sacrificed himself for the team and for us to win games is something I respect a lot. Derek, a great, funny guy and a really good player too. At this point of your career it’s part of the game, it happens . . . . ”