It appears Henrik Lundqvist is human after all. There aren’t many who could’ve taken a puck to the throat and walked away uninjured, and despite how it initially seemed, The King is evidently no different.
After first announcing that Lundqvist would be Wednesday’s starter against the red-hot Bruins, Alain Vigneault divulged today an upper body injury to the Rangers’ number one netminder.
#NYR Henrik Lundqvist suffered a neck injury and is out on a day-to-day basis. Further updates will be provided when more info is available.
— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) February 4, 2015
Stating the obvious, this is a tough break for both the Rangers and Lundqvist. While Alain Vigneault has expressed his strong confidence in backup Cam Talbot, there’s no denying that losing Lundqvist – who the Rangers confirmed is listed as day-to-day – will be a big test for a squad that finds itself in the thick of the Eastern Conference playoff race.
Starting in goal tonight for the #NYR will be @ctalbot33 “We are very confident with Cam in goal..he’s going to be fine tonight”-AV
— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) February 4, 2015
Worse than that, though, is the fact that Lundqvist, who had by many standards a very un-Lundvqivst-like start to the season, has finally found his inner-Vezina winning ways.
After a forgettable month of October where Lundqvist allowed three goals or more in five of his eight appearances, and had a .891 save percentage, Lundqvist has started to clamp down on the opposition in recent days. His numbers have steadily improved to levels that are much more recognizable for a goaltender of his caliber.
His last 20 games in particular have been especially glowing, as over that time Lundqvist has gone 16-4-0, with a 1.82 goals against average, and a 0.938 save percentage.
I think Seth Rothman of Insidehockey.com said it well:
#Rangers Lundqvist has video-game numbers over his last 20 games: 16-4-0, 1.82 GAA, .938 sv%, and 1 SO. And one throat save. Not too shabby.
— Seth Rothman (@RothmanHockey) February 3, 2015
All the Rangers would say was that it was a neck injury. Given the nature of Saturday’s incident against Carolina, that is not surprising. The good news, however, is that it is not a concussion, and that he is indeed listed as day-to-day.
Here’s to hoping that the IR does not become necessary, and that Henrik Lundqvist can get back between the pipes for the Rangers sooner than later, so he can continue quietly and sneakily putting together an under the radar, Dark Horse push for this year’s Vezina Trophy.
For now, though, it’s the two points on the line, and smart play in their own zone in front of Cam Talbot that it will take to beat that Bruins, which the Rangers must remain focused on heading into tonight’s contest at MSG.