Henrik Lundqvist Proving Me Wrong
I’m always skeptical when a rookie goalkeeper is given a pivotal role in his second season. All too often, second-season players in the NHL fall prey to the dreaded “sophomore slump.” No position faces more pressure than starting goaltender. A goaltender such as Henrik Lundqvist, who came in last season with little expected of him and performed so well, came into this season with very, very lofty expectations. I questioned from before the preseason how well he would handle
himself now that he’s expected to carry the team with support from Kevin Weekes, rather than the other way around.
Well, as the Hockey Rodent points out, pretty damned well. Since January 12, 2007, Lundqvist has played more minutes than anyone in the league except for Martin Brodeur and Miikka Kiprusoff, and he leads the league over that time span in both goals against average and save percentage. His sparkling numbers (1.742 GAA and 0.939 save %, to be precise) are head and shoulders above any of his competition for the playoff spots in the East and have almost single handedly given the Rangers the momentum heading into the final stretch of the regular season. He’s giving up almost a full third of a goal less per 60 minutes than his nearest rival (Marty Turco) and three-quarters of a goal per 60 minutes less than the nearest rival in the playoff race, the currently injured Rick DiPietro.