[NEW YORK, NY] -- So often the past few
years we have heard players, coaches, analysts, journalists, and fans
refer to Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist as "one of the best
goalies in the world."
Hard to argue that assessment what with
his Olympic Gold Medal, three straight Vezina Trophy-finalist
finishes, four consecutive 30+ win seasons, and 2009 NHL All Star Game
berth already on his resume.
But to be truly considered "great" or "one of the best on the world",
Lundqvist needed to author a signature dominating performance in the
post-season. He needed to channel his inner Houdini and provide a
magical run, stealing a series or two for the Blueshirts, something
that he had yet to do in his first three post-seasons on Broadway.
Consider Lundqvist on the verge of validating those calls for
greatness this spring.
Under siege in every game so far in a first-round match-up with the
high-flying Washington Capitals, Lundqvist has been phenomenal, the
absolute difference maker in the Rangers’ 3-1 series lead heading into
Friday’s Game 5 down in D.C. He has faced 149 shots through four
contests, and allowed only eight goals, while shutting down the
league’s top goal scorer Alex Ovechkin 34 times on 35 official shots
on goal.
After being shut out in Game 3 on home-ice, the Rangers won a critical
Game 4 at The Garden because Lundqvist refused to let his team lose.
Simple as that. His individual battle level in stopping 38 of 39
shots---including 29 over the final 40 minutes of play---was way off
the charts.
This is Lundqvist’s time to be recognized as one of the true elite
goaltenders in the world. He is on the verge of carrying his honest,
hard-working---yet much of the time, overmatched---team into the
second round of the playoffs by his sheer brilliance. And trust me,
that is not overstating the issue.
Stephen Valiquette, Lundqvist’s articulate back-up with the Rangers,
believes that Lundqvist is playing the best hockey of his career in
his opinion simply because he has to. The skill set and will to win
have always been there, but the stage has never been set like this for
him to excel, according to Valiquette. But now there is a perfect
storm for Lundqvist, what with facing an opponent that features the
best offensive player in the world in Ovechkin, the most
highly-skilled offensive defenseman in Mike Green, and wave after wave
of offensive skill up front, along with playing behind a willing, but
flawed team.
The only way the Rangers could win this series was if Lundqvist was
going to be the best player on the ice night after night. And to this
point he has been. He has met the challenge head-on, and come out
ahead, so far, with one more win to go.
Henrik Lundqvist is validating those calls for his greatness.
-----
Some other random notes and musings from
the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs:
-- It is going to be quite the summer of change in Montreal, isn’t it?
After their second-half collapse, desperate coaching change, off-ice
controversy, and first-round sweep at the hands of the hated Bruins,
Les Habitants are likely going to have a new owner, a new GM, a new
coaching staff, and many new faces on the roster before the 2009-10
campaign gets underway. And somebody had better get in the ear of
young goalie Carey Price and teach him how a true NHLer prepares
himself as a professional, otherwise the Canadiens are going to be in
for more disappointment next season and beyond.
-- It’s amazing how Chris Osgood was able to flick the switch and turn
his game around from a poor regular season to a strong start in the
playoffs. The veteran Red Wings netminder set the tone in the first
ten minutes of Game 1 against the Blue Jackets with a string of
big-time saves, and then went on to backstop a sweep of the upstart
squad from Columbus. I know Game 4 wasn’t necessarily pretty for
either goalie, but when it was all said and done, Osgood was a true
difference maker in this series.
-- One of my favorite moments of the playoffs, so far, was seeing
Martin Brodeur freak out, scream at the officials, and throw his stick
against the side boards after Jussi Jokinen’s goal with .2 seconds
left in regulation lifted Carolina past Brodeur’s Devils 4-3 in Game
4, and it has nothing to do with being a Devils hater or anything of
that nature. It was just amazing to see Brodeur, who has built his
Hall-of-Fame-worthy career on a very calm, almost serene, demeanor,
display the true fire that burns within him in public. A rare moment,
for sure.
-- And by the way, has there been a more evenly-matched series to this
point of the playoffs than New Jersey-Carolina? Two games decided in
overtime, one with less than a second to go in regulation, and four of
the five decided by one goal after Thursday’s 1-0 Devils’ victory in
Game 5. Love it.
-- My favorite goals of the first round, as of today? Well, they both
came last Sunday. First was Jeff Carter’s game-opening score for the
Flyers against the Penguins. Not many players in today’s NHL could
leave that many opponents flailing at air as he weaved and stick
handled through everybody before finishing with a scintillating goal.
And later that night, Anaheim rookie Bobby Ryan literally dove
face-first through a maze of sticks and skates to poke a rebound over
the goal line against the Sharks. Love that kind of fire and passion!
-- And by the way... how ugly is it going to be in San
Jose---especially for the star-crossed Joe Thornton---if the Sharks
can not defy odds and rally back from a 3-1 deficit against the Ducks?
I realize that a seasoned Ducks team was the last opponent the
President Trophy winners wanted to face in the first round, but after
so many post-season flops in the recent past, this was supposed to be
a special spring in San Jose. Jonas Hiller---almost as good in goal as
Lundqvist has been in the playoffs, by the way---and his Anaheim
‘mates are making sure this one is going to be anything but for the
Sharks.
Jim Cerny,
former play-by-play voice of the New York Islanders, is
a Columnist for TheFourthPeriod.com and the New York Correspondent for The
4th Period Magazine. He is also the beat writer for
NewYorkRangers.com, and hosts NHL Live on Sirius/XM Radio
and The NHL Network.
