The Henrik Lundqvist Blog: March 2011

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Update on Lundqvist's Condition

From Ranger Rants:

Video replays clearly showed that Lundqvist was hit square on the right knee by defenseman Chris Butler’s second period at 19:35 of the second period. But Lundqvist would neither confirm nor deny that when asked and, with a laugh, admitted “per orders, from upstairs,” he couldn’t really talk about it.

“I feel pretty good,” said Lundqvist, acknowledging he did get treatment after the game. But then he said, “My goal is to play tomorrow.”

Monday, March 28, 2011

Henrik Lundqvist NHL Live Interview 3/28/11

Sunday, March 27, 2011

Henrik Lundqvist Doesn't Mind Buying Wine Every Week

Henrik Lundqvist, who buys wine for his teammates after each shutout (perhaps from the inventory of the restaurant of which he is a part owner that opens soon), is now at a career-high and league-leading 11.

"That was my goal. I can't believe I did it," said The King, who had shutouts last season and in 2007-08. "I said the other night that there is no way I could be there by myself.

"There have been some shutouts I had to work really hard, but there have also been some shutouts where the team has been outstanding in front of me.

"The guys like getting more wine so I keep buying wine every week now. I don't mind though."

But the King aggravated the neck injury he first sustained a week ago Friday in the collision with Benoit Pouliot when Patrice Bergeron crashed into him with 2:56 to go in the second period following a nudge from Marc Staal.
"It was the exact same spot. It's sore," said Lundqvist, tended to on the ice by ubiquitous trainer Jim Ramsay. "It's back to where it was a week ago.

"I guess I will have to keep turning my whole body instead of just my head."
Lundqvist has surrendered three goals on 118 shots with two shutouts in four games (0.73 goals against average, .975 save percentage) since the initial injury. The King has a 1.67 goals against average with a .947 save percentage over his last 10 games including three shutouts, two one-goal games and two two-goal games.

Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/sports/rangers/stepan_stock_on_the_rise_Z6f5errR2sc9Biui8T5xoO#ixzz1Hr0gJve8

Wiser King Doesn't Take Playoff Berth For Granted

By Andrew Gross

GREENBURGH, N.Y. – Henrik Lundqvist turned 29 years old earlier this month, meaning he’s still a young man by all standards except as a professional athlete.

Not that Lundqvist is an NHL senior citizen. But the Rangers goalie has matured enough to know the playoffs aren’t a given.

"I think the older you get, the more you realize that you don’t have that many chances to make the playoffs and make a run," Lundqvist said. "That’s also a reminder that you really have to appreciate it and be ready."

"You kind of walk around a little anxious, a little nervous and a little excited at the same time," Lundqvist added. "I want to play. I want to see what will happen. I want to make it so bad. It’s stressful and exciting at the same time."

The Rangers made the playoffs in each of Lundqvist’s first four NHL seasons, advancing to the second round in 2006-07 and 2007-08.

Last season, the Rangers missed the postseason by one point when they lost a play-in season-finale at Philadelphia, 2-1, in a shootout.

"I keep reminding myself that I don’t want to be there," Lundqvist said. "You work so hard all year long and to be so close, it motivates me to play as good as I can.

"My first couple of years, I really expected to be in the playoffs and to be back every year in the playoffs," Lundqvist added. "Now, you’re never sure. Definitely, we should be there and we want to be there but it feels like every year it gets tougher and tougher because all the teams are even. But it’s good for the sport. Every team could be a top team."

http://www.northjersey.com/sports/pro_sports/hockey/118698354_Wiser_King_doesn_t_take_playoff_berth_for_granted_.html

Saturday, March 26, 2011

Post-Game Notes & Reaction; King Henrik Records Career-High 11th Shutout of Season

*Henrik Lundqvist stopped 26 shots to post his career-high, 11th shutout of the season, while appearing in his 400th career game. He is now 33-24-5 overall, including a 19-11-1 mark on the road. His 11 shutouts and 19 road wins both lead the league. In the last 10 games, Lundqvist is 8-1-1 with a 1.67 goals against average, a .942 save percentage and three shutouts over the span.

* Lundqvist’s 11 shutouts are tied for second in team history for most shutouts in a season, and are the most by a Ranger goalie since John Ross Roach posted 13 shutouts in 1928-29.

From Ranger Rants:

The Rangers are now on an 8-1-1 streak. And Henrik Lundqvist leads the NHL with 11 shutouts, becoming the first Rangers goalie since John Ross Roach had a team-record 13 in 1928-29. Yes, Lundqvist is very much a Vezina candidate.

And a sore Vezina candidate at that. Lundqvist said that collision with Patrice Bergeron in the second period may have set him back a week in terms of how his stiff neck feels. That’s the bad news. The good news is Lundqvist has played through the pain to this point (and very well, I might add) and says even this setback won’t keep him out of the lineup.

“If I didn’t have it (the sore neck) I wouldn’t have noticed but now a little pop and I feel it,” Lundqvist said.

“Guys just battled hard tonight,” Henrik Lundqvist said. “It was great to see the way we bounced back from the other night. So many big blocks we talked about it going into the game. Blocking shots was going to be a big part because their defense is very active. The puck goes back to the blue line a lot. They’re shooting fast. Coming up with those blocks was big. Me personally I just tried to fight all night to see the puck and felt like I was very active. As the game went on it got more and more intense. It’s a great feeling.”

Friday, March 25, 2011

Lundqvist Finds Benefits in Starting Every Game

From Slap Shot, the NY Times Hockey Blog:

“You definitely get in a rhythm,” Lundqvist said after the Rangers’ 2-1 shootout loss to Ottawa, the goaltender’s 19th consecutive start. “You don’t have to think too much or wonder if you’re playing this game or that game. Being focused and ready is not a problem.”

The intense workload has not been a burden for the All-Star goaltender. He is 7-1-1 with a 1.86 goals-against average, .936 save percentage and two shutouts in his last nine games. In the shootout loss to the Senators on Thursday, Lundqvist made 29 saves on 30 shots in regulation time. He stopped Jason Spezza, Ryan Shannon, Marek Svatos and Nick Foligno in the shootout before Erik Karlsson beat him with a wrist shot on Ottawa’s fifth shootout attempt to win the game.

Biron is not expected back before the start of the first round of the playoffs, and Lundqvist might have made all of these starts even if a more qualified backup was available to Rangers Coach John Tortorella. Since Biron sustained the injury, the Rangers have played games on consecutive nights only once (on March 3 and 4). The next back-to-backs arrive next week with road games in Buffalo (Wednesday) and Long Island (Thursday). Lundqvist says there is little challenge to being ready for all of them, as the Rangers seek to clinch a playoff berth.

“The thing you have to keep in mind is, you know how important every game is this time of year,” he said. “So not only do I have the luxury of knowing I’ll probably get the next start, I’m locked in because of how crucial the two points are. This is fun. This is exciting.”

http://slapshot.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/03/25/lundqvist-finds-benefits-in-starting-every-game/

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Lundqvist: "Everything in My Life is About Getting Ready for the Next Game"

Henrik Lundqvist has 34 career shutouts in the regular season and three in the playoffs following last night's 1-0 victory at the Garden over the Panthers, meaning that the King now has 36 shutout pucks for his own personal trophy display.
The 37th puck? Lundqvist wants no part of it, not even half of it, for that would be the one from the 1-0 shootout game in which he and the Rangers were beaten by the Devils and Martin Brodeur at the Garden last Jan. 12 in which New Jersey had 45 shots and the Blueshirts had 51.
"We lost," Lundqvist told The Post earlier in the year. "I don't want it."

But Lundqvist will take last night's puck that represented his NHL-leading 10th shutout that matches both his career-high he first established in 2007-08 and the goal he set for himself before the season began.
"I told Benny [goaltending coach Benoit Allaire] that was my goal," Lundqvist said after a 22-save performance in which he made a couple of key stops, including a pair on Jack Skille and Mike Santorelli from the right side in the final 25 seconds with the Blueshirts protecting their one-goal lead.
"But when I talked about it before the season I knew it was going to be tough because you need a great team in front of you and you need some luck along the way. I have both."
The game marked Lundqvist's 18th straight start, the second longest stretch of his career. Unless fate intervenes, the King will match his career high of 19 consecutive starts tomorrow night at home against the Senators that he first reached in his sophomore season from Jan. 13-March 1, 2007.
"I feel great," said Lundqvist, ignoring the stiff neck he admitted bothered him in the third period. "Every other year it's been my knees, hips or back, but I feel great now.
"It's so exciting, this time of year," he said. "I think about hockey all the time now. Everything in my life is about getting ready for the next game."

Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/sports/rangers/lundqvist_notches_nhl_leading_th_fZg8thEDYu20CsEPf2Z3wN#ixzz1HSYA7lBA

Post-Game Notes & Reaction; King Henrik Records League Leading 10th Shutout

•Henrik Lundqvist stopped all 22 shots faced to post his league leading, 10th shutout of the season, and improve to 32-24-4 overall with a 14-13-3 mark at home. It is the second time in his career Lundqvist registered 10 shutouts in a season (2007-08). He is now 7-1-0 with a 1.98 goals against average, .932 save percentage and two shutouts in the last eight games.

Sunday, March 20, 2011

Post-Game Notes & Reaction

* 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.

Update on Lundqvist's Condition

From the Rangers official Twitter account:

Lundqvist says he "feels better" today "fortunately it's nothing serious...I will be fine"
Lundqvist: "my neck is still stiff, and I have a tough time moving my head...but the treatment has really helped...I'm getting there"
Lundqvist: "It's just pain, nothing that can get worse..still very stiff, but had some treatment & will have whole afternoon 2 take it easy"
Lundqvist: "I am getting ready to play, that's still my goal, but we'll see how it feels later..."

Despite injury, Lundqvist was still able to enjoy fact that he earned his 30th win last night, only goalie to win 30+ each of first 6 years

Lundqvist: "Absolutely that is one goal I had, to reach 30 wins again...definitely something I wanted to achieve...important to me"

http://twitter.com/thenyrangers

Saturday, March 19, 2011

Henrik Lundqvist Post-Game Video Interview

•Henrik Lundqvist turned aside 22 shots to register his 30th win of the season to extend his NHL record by registering 30 or more wins in six consecutive seasons to begin his career, and extend his team record with six straight 30-win seasons. Lundqvist improved to 30-24-4 overall, including a 13-13-3 mark at home. He is now 5-1-0 in the last six games, with wins in his last three contests.

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Henrik Lundqvist Makes Incredible Save on Kyle Okposo 3/15/11

Post-Game Notes & Reaction

* Henrik Lundqvist turned aside 25 shots to improve to 29-24-4 overall, including a 12-13-3 mark at home. He is now 4-1-0 with a 2.17 goals against average, a .925 save percentage and one shutout in the last five games.

From Rangers Report:

Henrik Lundqvist:

“They had a pretty good chance coming down the wing there. It was 2-2 and, then you know, the next save or next goal can be critical. They didn’t score there and then we had a couple of chances and we score and go from there. But halfway through the game, it could go either way. They created some big chances, but we stepped up at the right part of the game.”

“Right now, it’s fun. Every game is so important, and mentally I try to see it as the playoffs. I think a lot of guys do, and a lot of teams do. So you have to be so careful that you do the right things in practice and between games and be ready for each game. Because I know from last year, one point could be the difference. You want to do everything you can here to play your best and help the team get points.”

“There’s still a lot of hockey left. I still see it as we’re in a pretty critical spot here. We need to play our best going down the stretch. It can change pretty fast. But the feeling changes so far. You get a couple wins and you feel great and maybe you relax, but the next game will be really important again. So you have to enjoy it, it’s exciting, and hopefully we can keep winning.”

“I think a lot of games now are decided right around the net. You have to be hard in front of your own net, and you have to be in the blue to screen and deflect and get rebounds. That’s how you score now. That will be a critical part of our game.”

Monday, March 14, 2011

King Of Manhattan - XXFXifier - Henrik Lundqvist, New York Rangers, NHL, 2011 (Henrik Lundqvist Has a New Mask)

King Of Manhattan - XXFXifier - Henrik Lundqvist, New York Rangers, NHL, 2011

Click on the link to see more photos and read about the evolution of the designs for Henrik's mask.

Sunday, March 6, 2011

Post-Game Notes & Video Reaction; Lundqvist Records League-Leading 9th Shutout of Season

•Henrik Lundqvist turned aside 24 shots to post his league-leading, ninth shutout of the season, and 33rd of his career to improve to 27-23-4 overall, including an 11-13-3 mark at home. He moved past John Ross Roach into third on the Rangers’ all-time shutouts list with 36 career shutouts (including three career playoff shutouts).