Connect with us

Hockey

Rangers Lundqvist Shuts Out Panthers

Henrik Lundqvist’s perfect 22 save performance earned him that game puck, as well as his tenth shutout of the season, ranking him first in shutouts among all NHL goalies. Lundqvist has been terrific in his last two starts, yielding just two goals while making 60 saves.

Despite scoring the game-winning goal on what turned out to be the only goal of the game, Brandon Dubinsky made sure to collect the game puck and deliver it to the glove of goaltender Henrik Lundqvist.  I said it before, and I’ll say it again.  Brandon Dubinsky must be named captain of the New York Rangers.

The guy just gets it, plain and simple.  Whether it’s a game-winning goal, a key face off win, or a momentum shifting fight, Dubinsky is willing and able to do it all.

Henrik Lundqvist’s perfect 22 save performance earned him that game puck, as well as his tenth shutout of the season, ranking him first in shutouts among all NHL goalies.  Lundqvist has been terrific in his last two starts, yielding just two goals while making 60 saves.  All this, after being listed as questionable to play after being run into by Montreal Canadiens forward Benoit Pouliot on February 18th.  Lundqvist has been suffering from a stiff neck as a result of the hit, but has managed to play incredible hockey despite the pain.

With the win against Florida, the Rangers now have 84 points, just three back from the Canadiens in 6th.  Montreal meanwhile, lost to the Buffalo Sabres, who are only three points behind the Rangers in eighth place.  The ninth-place Carolina Hurricanes also won, to keep pace with everybody.  It will certainly be a fight to the finish.

The Rangers will likely continue to fight that fight without the help of Sean Avery.  Avery has not played in a game since taking that bad penalty in the already decided game against the Islanders, and the Rangers haven’t lost since he’s been scratched.

Don’t get me wrong, I think Sean Avery could be a valuable player, if his head is in the right place.  Unfortunately, that’s a big if at times, and now isn’t the time to risk it.  He just hasn’t been much of a factor this year, and the team is playing well without him.

Dante Vassallo
dantepv9@gmail.com
follow me on Twitter @dpv9

2 Comments

2 Comments

You must be logged in to post a comment Login

Leave a Reply

More in Hockey