Henrik Lundqvist is undoubtedly the face of the New York Rangers, but in most recent showings, some fans are starting to lose faith in the 34-year-old goaltender. The king has struggled as of late, losing to the Columbus Blue Jackets, Florida Panthers, and was recently pulled from the team’s 6-1 blowout loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins. Many fans have expressed on social media that Lundqvist is “washed up” and that backup Antti Raanta should be in the starting position because he is 5-0-0.
Lundqvist made those fans eat their words as he got back on track and defeated arch rival the Philadelphia Flyers during the Thanksgiving Showdown on Friday, stopping an incredible 40 shots on goal! The team got Lundqvist on the board twice in the first thanks to Derek Stepan and new forward Matt Peumpel, with Kevin Hayes scoring in the second. Fans became worried as Chris Vandevelde made it 3-1 early in the third, and Shayne Gostisbehere made it 3-2 late.
Lundqvist stopped a total of NINETEEN shots in the third period alone and you could see at the end of the game how exhausted he was, but relieved that his losing streak was finally over. Defenseman and alternate captain Marc Staal told reporters “He (Henrik) stood tall and kept us in there for sure. It was a great performance by him.”
The New York Rangers are back home for two games at Madison Square Garden, with the Ottawa Senators, and former center Derick Brassard being their first opponent on Sunday night. Don’t worry Rangers fans, all goalies go through tough stretches. The king, is most certainly, back.
