Post-Game Notes & Reaction

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* Henrik Lundqvist made 38 saves to extend his winning streak to four games, and improve to 31-24-4 overall with an 18-11-1 mark on the road. It is the fourth time this season Lundqvist has faced 40 or more shots, having posted a 3-1-0 record with a 1.51 goals against average, a .964 save percentage and one shutout in those contests. He is 6-1-0 in the last seven games, and now leads the league with 18 road wins.


“The neck didn’t feel great, but I wanted to play,” said Lundqvist. “It’s fun to play right now and I want to be out there. And this was a fun game to play. A lot of action, a lot of shots. They just kept coming because they’re such a good team. But we stayed in there and battled and found a way to win.”

From Ranger Rants:

So now the Rangers have a season-high four-game winning streak and Henrik Lundqvist, stiff neck at all has won four straight himself. Prior to this run, Lundqvist had not won more than two decisions in a row all season.

“All year, I won’t say it’s a problem, but we’ve won two, lost two, won two, lost two,” Lundqvist said. “We were always over .500 but we never got a long streak going. I don’t know the reason for it, me or the team.”

Lundqvist was not a slam-dunk option to start today’s game.

Goalie coach Benoit Allaire called him first thing in the morning to check on his status, given his stiff neck which left him unable to turn his head following Thursday’s 6-3 win over the Canadiens.

“Benny called me this morning and I couldn’t say yes or no,” Lundqvist said. “I said I have to see how I feel with my mask on. I wanted to play. It was tough to see the puck behind the net. Also, it was hurting more on blocker saves.”

I asked Lundqvist what he thought when Ryan Callahan tackled Maxime Talbot in the Rangers’ crease after Talbot had knocked into Lundqvist, again, thinking about Benoit Pouliot plowing into Lundqvist on Thursday

“I know this group stands up for each other,” Lundqvist said.