Lundqvist Carries Rangers

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Great article by James O'Brien:

While the Rangers are flying under the radar a bit, the team is a beyond respectable 5-3 since their big ticket scorers went down with injuries. Their scrappy, competitive play might be a surprise to some, but the main reason they are keeping their heads above water shouldn’t. Lundqvist put together Vezina Trophy – perhaps Hart Trophy- caliber hockey in the six of the eight games he started since those guys went on the shelf.

A 4-2 record might not seem that amazing until you look at his impressive numbers.

Allowing 12 goals in only six games is pretty impressive to begin with, but doing so when your team allows 34.7 shots per game makes it an outstanding number.
Lundqvist only had one game with a sub-90 save percentage, in a loss against the Carolina Hurricanes.
He hit 94 percent or better in four of those six games, including a shutout on the road against Toronto. In fact, his save percentage totals about 94.23 in this span.

With the Chicago Blackhawks winning a Cup with Antti Niemi and plenty of teams having recent success with previously unknown goalies, many people might question the need for a “marquee” or “franchise” netminder. Yet, if you look at the Rangers, they would be in enormous trouble without their stupendous Swedish stopper.

That’s because Lundqvist delivers when the Rangers need him the most.

http://prohockeytalk.nbcsports.com/2010/11/01/henrik-lundqvist-carries-rangers-while-big-money-scorers-struggle-with-injuries/