When he's locked in, as he was in a 3-0 shutout victory over the Boston Bruins on Tuesday night, there's no beating Henrik Lundqvist of the New York Rangers. He will stop shots near and far, from grinders digging in his crease to snipers firing from the circle. And he'll frustrate the hell out of them in the process.
Witness this remarkable sequence, in which Milan Lucic is celebrating a goal that was never scored before Zdeno Chara gets a clear look at the net with his cannon — firing the puck off the back of Lundqvist's head as the Rangers' goalie makes one of the best saves of the season:
Wow. Henrik Lundqvist makes better saves with his back to the shooter than many NHL goalies make in the shootout …
Considering this save, timely note in Elliotte Friedman's column this week:
If I Was A GM, Things That Would Drive Me Crazy, Part I: It's funny when Henrik Lundqvist intentionally makes a save off his head. But, if I worked for the Rangers and thought of Mike Richter, I'd cringe every time.
That's especially true when the shooter can pump the puck at a 108.8 mph clip. And with that, we say a quiet prayer of thanks to Jacques Plante for breaking the goalie mask barrier.
Lundqvist won the Rangers' celebrated Broadway Hat for this 42-save shutout performance.
Said Coach John Tortorella: "I thought we defended really well but that's all we did and then when we had breakdowns Hank was there. Henrik should have six hats on tonight."
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